Black Gambit
by Swagnarok
Summary: A year has passed since Shinichi was shrunk. He's kept Ran in the dark to keep her safe. But despite his best efforts, one day the unthinkable finally happens. Ran dies, but there may be a way to bring her back. Unfortunately, it involves joining the BO. The history and purpose of the BO is unveiled; Episodes 910-915.
1. Episode 910

TO THE READER: It is recommended that you read "A Birthday Surprise from the Black Organization" before reading this story. The full context of this story cannot be garnered without it, and if you read the Birthday Surprise arc after reading this it won't be nearly as good a read.

 **24 Hours Ago...**

After having been subjected to a strip search, a metal detector, and a background check Rum made his way to the visitation room. He was at Louisiana State Penitentiary, one of America's most infamous maximum security prisons.

" _Alright, miss Yamaguchi_ ," the guard said in English. " _Your brother should be arriving shortly._ "

" _Yes, thank you,_ " Rum said. "She" sat down at the table.

A few seconds later Vodka emerged, clad in a prison uniform.

" _Onee-sama_ ," he said. " _What are you doing here_?"

"It's okay," Rum said in Japanese. "We can talk in Japanese. The guard doesn't understand it otherwise he would've addressed me in that language."

"Big sis?" Vodka asked in Japanese. "What's going on?"

Rum grinned. "I hate to break it to you, but I am not your sister."

 _"B-belmot?_ " Vodka asked.

"Rum. You don't notice the glass eye?"

Vodka was silent for several seconds. "Why are you here?"

"Because you failed the Organization," Rum said. "You have been captured, and as such it is in the Organization's best interests to have you killed. You are of no use to them in here. Only in death can you serve them once more."

"I don't understand," Vodka said.

"Oh, you will," Rum said. "In the meantime, I am sorry to say that this will hurt."

Vodka suddenly clutched his chest and fell over backwards. Guards flooded the room, one of them shouting something about a medic. It was then clear that visiting time was over.

It doesn't matter anyway, Rum thought. No hospital can save him. No hospital was able to save Moonshine and Ale either...

 **OPENING:**

( _Ai Wa Te Saguri Kurayami No Naka De_ by ZARD, in the key of A Minor)

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

(As the end draws near the war's fallout results in tougher and tougher cases! To save Ran's life, will I have to join the Men in Black? Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child and the mind of an adult, my name is... _Meitantei Conan!)_

 _Yoake wo highway_

 _Kono omoi to be your slave_

 _Oh tonight and every night you'd be mine_

 _Meutsuri ki ni naru koi no kakehiki_

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa ki magure beat ni dakare_

 _Mitsumete in your eyes_

 _Ai wa maboroshi kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa furuete beat ni dakare_

 _Kono mama in your eyes, oh yeah!_

 **Black Gambit: Part One!**

 **Present**

"Gah! Who are you?! What do you want?!"

Rum stared at the startled old man in raggedy clothes; it simply would not do for this obvious squatter to be at this place right now. He could simply kill the man, but...

That'd just be another crime scene to deal with, he thought.

So instead he pulled ¥4000 out of his wallet and handed it to the old man. "Go buy yourself a nice meal or something. Now get out of here."

Without saying another word the old man accepted the money and ran away.

Rum looked around; this underground parking lot had been abandoned since its related shopping mall had been closed down 6 years ago. It was the perfect place for a meeting. For him only one question remained: who was his contact?

He heard footsteps coming from behind him. They were getting closer. Rum turned around; after a few seconds he could make out who it was.

"Hello Mr. NOC," Rum said.

"You've got no proof of that and you never will," Bourbon said with a confident grin. "Anyway, the Council wants to know if you've succeeded in extracting Vodka and silencing Ale and Moonshine."

"It's done," Rum said. "I've already dispatched an agent to dig up Vodka's body and bring it back to Japan."

"Good work then," Bourbon said. He then turned around and walked away.

"Your day will come soon, you spy," Rum said coldly and without emotion.

"Yeah, yeah," Bourbon said dismissively without turning around or stopping.

After he was out of earshot Bourbon dialed Yoko Okino, the new Boss of the Black Organization since Korn's death 2 weeks ago.

"So how did it go?" Yoko asked.

"He says that he did as ordered regarding Vodka, Ale, and Moonshine," Bourbon said.

"I see," Yoko said. "By the way, Tooru-chan..."

"Yeah, I'll be right over," Bourbon said. "What part do you want done today?"

"The left calf," Yoko said. "And please go buy some barbecue sauce on the way if you can find it."

 **Scene Transition**

"Shinichi!"

Hearing Ran's voice Shinichi ran through the fog. He reached the fog's clearing, where Ran was waiting. He ran towards her but then suddenly Shiho Miyano appeared. She stretched out her arms and stood firmly in place as to block Shinichi's access to Ran.

"Get out of my way," Shinichi said.

"No," Shiho said.

"I SAID, GET THE *expletive* OUT OF MY WAY!" Shinichi barked.

There was suddenly a knife in his hand. He lunged at Shiho.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" he screamed. "EVERYTHING IS ALL YOUR FAULT! GO AWAY! JUST DIE ALREADY!"

Whenever he reached Shiho she disappeared. As she disappeared she uttered a single sentence: "Please don't hate me."

The knife in his hand was bloody, somehow. Shinichi dropped the knife and took a step backwards.

"...R-Ran?" Shinichi called out, having finally reached her and not knowing what else to say.

Ran turned around and looked at him, a blank look on her face. "Who are you? Where is Shinichi?"

"W-What are you talking about?" Shinichi asked, starting to feel scared. "Ran, it's me! Shinichi!"

"I don't recognize you," Ran said blankly.

"W-what...?" Shinichi said, finding it hard to breathe suddenly.

"I've got a mirror," Ran said. "Here, I'll let you see what you look like."

She handed him the mirror. He looked at his reflection. Staring back at him was Gin's face.

Shinichi screamed and dropped the mirror. It shattered. He turned around and ran away as fast as his legs could take him. He was whimpering like a scared little boy as he ran. Appropriately then he reverted back to Conan.

The ground beneath him disappeared and he began to fall into the pitch blackness below...

 **Scene Transition**

Conan woke up with a gasp, a bead of sweat on his face.

He looked around; it was still dark. Kogoro was fast asleep and snoring from the other side of the room. Conan could hear the sound of the clock ticking.

He sighed. He had been having that same dream every night for the past 2 weeks.

What happened was fairly straightforward; 2 weeks ago, he was contacted by the Boss of the Black Organization, who told him that he knew Shinichi and Conan were the same person and that he must turn over Sherry to the Organization if he wanted himself and Ran to live. In the end, Shinichi turned against Haibara and was on the verge of handing her over to the Organization; it was only Vermouth's timely intervention and sacrifice that caused the Boss's death and kept his secret safe without him having to kill the shrunken biochemist.

Because of what he almost did then, Conan was now unable to get a good night's rest. Even during the day he had to deal with recurring bouts of depression. He knew that if he tried to go back to sleep now he would just relive that dream. That absolutely horrible dream.

I need to take a walk, he thought.

His leg not yet having been healed he used his crutches to stand and made his way outside without waking anybody up. From there he walked across the dark street, still in his pajamas. He made his way to the Kudo Residence.

Home, he thought.

Indeed; while the Mouri Residence was the place he had gotten used to returning to at the end of each day, he could never really consider it a safe place where he could be himself. Like people out in public did, at the Mouri Residence he had to put on a socially acceptable mask for those around him. He constantly had to act in a way consistent with 8 year old Conan Edogawa, not his actual 18 year old self.

Maintaining this facade 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year...he sighed. This place is the only place that I can truly call home. So...home sweet home then.

He was about to ring the doorbell but then he realized that he could not reach it so he knocked on the door instead.

Surprisingly, it only took about 5 seconds for Subaru Okiya, AKA Shuichi Akai, to flip the light switch and answer the door. He was holding a glass of _Baker's Mark Bourbon Whiskey_ in his hand.

"Why were you sitting in the dark?" Conan asked, deducing that Subaru had been sitting in the living room.

"I was on my tablet device surfing the internet," Subaru said.

"Alcohol and the internet tend to make a poor combination," Conan scolded.

"Well, it's not like I really use social media websites anyway," Subaru said. "Please, come on in. Couldn't sleep?"

Conan stepped inside. Subaru closed the door.

"It's that dream," Conan said.

"You're still having it?" Subaru asked. "After 2 weeks?"

"Yeah," Conan admitted. "It's always the same thing. I come within inches of stabbing Shiho because she's standing between me and Ran. Then I get to Ran, but because of what I've done she doesn't recognize me."

"I'm guessing that you want some of those pills then," Subaru said.

Conan sighed. "Yeah. Please give me one. They'll help me sleep, right?"

Subaru smiled. "Of course. But before I do that I just have one question for you: is it the right thing to do?"

"Idiot, why wouldn't it be?" Conan retorted.

"Well, aren't the nightmares a form of penance?" Subaru asked.

"Penance?" Conan asked, puzzled.

"I live right next to that house," Subaru said. "Miyano-kun is depressed almost all the time. Her only consolation was being able to talk to her parents and the knowledge that she had a brother. Yet she's only been able to call her parents once and Satoshi hasn't been in contact with her either since then."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Conan protested. "I'm what to her exactly? Just that boy she has a crush on, right? Shouldn't the joy from the knowledge that her brother and parents are still alive far outweigh the pain she felt from my betrayal?!"

"Why are you mad at her?" Subaru asked. "She's going to react in whatever way is natural to her, right? Perhaps she doesn't really trust that the people she contacted were actually her brother and parents?"

That is a possibility, Conan thought, ashamed.

"I'm no psychologist but if you ask me, you're frustrated that she hasn't gotten over your betrayal because you cannot know peace until she does. Deflecting some of the blame over to her helps you minimize what you've done. I'm sure that you've also been having the same conversation with yourself over and over again, trying to convince yourself that you had a good reason for what you did."

"Ran would've died had I not acted!" Conan declared. "Or at least that's what I thought at the time!"

"And that what...just made it okay for you to send Miyano-kun to her death?" Subaru asked, more in the manner of a teacher than an angry person. He took another sip of his drink. "What right have you to demand that Miyano-kun die for Mouri-kun?"

Conan was about to react angrily but he stopped himself. So he said nothing.

"You aren't really angry," Subaru said. "Rather, you're scared. You're lashing out in self-defense like a cornered beast does. But instead of the pursuer being an outside enemy your enemy is yourself and anyone who would look past all your pitiable excuses, look you in the eye and tell you that what you did was wrong. On some level you were hoping for me to tell you that what you did was okay. But I'm not going to lie to you. You should be smart enough to see past obvious lies like that anyway, Kudo-kun. A true detective always pursues the truth, no matter the cost of knowing. Right?"

Conan sighed. "How can you say all this?"

"I caused the death of her sister, remember?" Subaru pointed out. "And as of two weeks ago I am responsible for another person losing his sister. A boy about your age. Your real age, that is."

"Eisuke," Conan surmised.

"Indeed."

"Just why did you do it though?" Conan asked. "Why did you show up to Gin's capture as your real self?"

"I wanted to gloat in front of him and taunt him after his capture," Subaru/Shuichi said. "I wanted that cold-hearted b****rd to know that at long last we've beaten him, and that he would face my justice for killing Akemi...!"

He was clenching his hand so much that he accidentally shattered the glass he was holding.

"Uh, sorry," Subaru said sheepishly. "I'll clean that up right away."

"And now Gin's dead," Conan called out to Subaru, who had retreated to the kitchen to grab a broom.

"Be rest assured I won't be cheated out of my revenge so easily," Subaru said cryptically after returning with the broom.

Huh? Conan thought.

"Nothing," Subaru said. "You'll find out what I mean one day. So, about the pill..."

"Uh, never mind that," Conan said. "Like you said, it would be totally inappropriate for me to get over what happened before she did. What I did...I had absolutely no right to demand that she give up her life for Ran's. I should've found another way and now I'll have to face the consequences of my choice."

"Okay then, it's been nice chatting with you," Subaru said.

With that Conan left and headed back to the Mouri Residence.

Subaru peered around.

"I know you're back there," he said. "Honestly, Miyano-kun, you would make a terrible spy."

Realizing that her cover was blown, Haibara emerged from behind the corner and made a run for it. She ran out the front door and headed back to the professor's house.

Subaru smiled. He had left that back window open on purpose. How will you respond, Miyano-kun? he thought.

As soon as he was sure Haibara was gone he turned serious. He then received a call from Andre Camel.

"You're on your way with the package now, right?" Subaru/Shuichi asked.

"Yeah," Andre confirmed. "You've prepared a second freezer, right?"

"I had it installed 6 hours ago," Subaru said.

"I'll be there soon then," Andre said. "But I just felt like I should let you know: my car's giving me some trouble right now and I'm stuck on the shoulder of the road trying to see what's wrong with it. Is it okay for that thing to be exposed to regular temperatures for this long?"

"It should be fine as long as you get the car working again quickly," Subaru said. "Goodbye."

Subaru sighed. He walked down into the basement. He opened the door to the freezer and looked down at the contents.

"Soon," he vowed.

Then he closed the freezer and walked back up the basement stairs.

"Despite the despondent pleas of the huddled masses holding in our weary arms the bodies of those we have loved, by divine decree access to the Tree of Life has been and shall remain sealed off," Subaru said to himself out loud. "With nowhere else to turn and with hearts hardened against the heavens which have abandoned us to our present state of hopelessness we have pledged ourselves to the wisdom of the serpent and we sow his teeth so that new life may spring forth, no matter the cost."

 **The Next Day**

"RAAAAN!" Kogoro demanded. "What happened to all the beer in the fridge?!"

Conan sighed and got up.

"I threw it out!" Ran answered. "You need to stay sober for your big date with _Oka-san_!"

"It's not a date," Kogoro protested, blushing. "We're just discussing the details of one of her client cases over dinner."

Is that why you rented a ¥30,000 tuxedo? Conan thought with a deadpan look, entering the bathroom to brush his teeth.

 **Scene Transition**

"Ah, Conan!"

Conan saw Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, and Genta huddled around Mitsuhiko's phone watching a video.

It's probably another dancing cat video, he thought. "What are you guys watching this time?"

"It's Satoru Domon!" Mitsuhiko said.

"That's the guy who was in charge of that video game company, right?" Ayumi asked.

"No," Mitsuhiko said. "Conan, do you want to come watch Satoru Domon speaking live or not?"

"Who?" Conan asked.

"Huuuh?! You don't know?!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed.

Should I? Conan asked himself. He tried to think. Domon...Domon...Yasuteru...

"He's some politician, right?" Conan asked.

"Some politician?" Mitsuhiko repeated in disbelief. "He's a leading figure of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Speaker of the House of Councillors! You know, the upper house of the National Diet!"

I know what the House of Councillors is," Conan said, annoyed. "He's facing a scandal for an affair that happened 20 years ago, right?"

"Yeah," Mitsuhiko said. "Anyway, right now he's speaking live announcing a new bipartisan election spending transparency bill. Honestly, Conan, you need to be more mindful of our nation's politics! It's the duty of every Japanese citizen to be informed of the issues that face our nation!"

Nerd, Conan thought with a deadpan look.

"What's this?"

Mitsuhiko turned his head to see Haibara standing beside him.

"Ah, Haibara-san!" Mitsuhiko said, blushing. "I didn't see you get here!"

"Satoru Domon, huh?" Haibara said, reading the headline on the screen. "That man has no business serving in the Japanese Government."

"Wait, you know who he is?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Indeed," Haibara said. "He has been a politician for 30 years. Prior to being Speaker of the House of Councillors he served as the President of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, which is the city's prefectural parliament. Throughout his career he has made a name for himself as a critic of American military bases on Japanese soil and his support for closer ties with China, as well as his many angry speeches demanding that Russia return Karafuto and the Kuril Islands to Japan. He is a Pan-Asianist and he has made some racist comments about white people. There is some speculation that he is trying to become Prime Minister, though he is widely unpopular across Japan so I don't find it likely. Frankly I am amazed that he has managed to hold onto his seat in the House of Councillors. I'm half-white so I certainly voted for the other guy."

Mitsuhiko looked at her funny. "Haibara-san, you voted in an election? How?"

Haibara, realizing her slip-up, chuckled nervously. "Uh, I mean, my older sister voted against him. Anyways, I heard that his son was going to run for Representative but whenever news of his father's affair 20 years ago became publicly known he dropped out of the race. That's a shame, because he was actually popular unlike his father. I hear he even rescued several people in the aftermath of the Tohoku Earthquake."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Genta said. "We never found that lady who saved us from that fire in Gunma, huh?"

"Just be careful," Haibara said cryptically. "Our heroes are rarely the kind of people who we think they are."

Ayumi looked at her cheap kid watch and gasped."We have to get going right now if we don't want to be late!"

Mitsuhiko, Genta, and Ayumi hurried on ahead, leaving Conan and Haibara alone.

"I was wondering if you've seen Satoshi," Haibara said. "I even visited Masumi Sera's place but it's empty now."

"No, I haven't," Conan answered. "I was hoping that he could get me in touch with your parents but I haven't seen him either. Perhaps Masumi Sera moved elsewhere?"

"Be sure to ask Ran when you get home," Haibara said.

"What's with the change?" Conan asked. "For the past two weeks you wouldn't even look me in the eye, much less talk to me."

"The past is in the past," Haibara said. "I understand why you had to do it and after some contemplating I've realized that were our roles reversed and were it Akemi's life on the line I would do the same thing in a heartbeat. So...let's just put that behind us and look towards the future. Oh, and everything that I said while locked in that room...just forget that I said it, please. All of it."

"Are you sure that you're no longer upset about what happened?" Conan asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Haibara said. "2 weeks of moping around is plenty long enough."

Yes! Conan thought happily. He could tell that today would be a great day, even if he did have to sit through children's classes surrounded by nasty 7/8/9 years olds and eat a fake food school lunch.

 **Scene Transition**

"...It's been two weeks."

"Indeed it has," Ryan Jackson, age 48, said to his subordinate. "How far have you gotten?"

"I've written 29 entries, working backwards," Yoshiteru Nichimura, age 29, said to his boss.

"That's it?"

"It's harder than you might think," Yoshiteru said. "I have to write it all by hand in exactly her handwriting style, using word and grammar choices unique to her. I also have to fact check and research her last few months extensively to make sure that everything written matches up with reality perfectly. And I'm working 10 hours a day at this."

"I understand," Ryan said. "But still, we need six months worth. Nearly one month won't cut it. Is there anything I can do to help speed the process along?"

"I don't really see how you could help," Yoshiteru said. "I'm the only person who knew her well enough to pull this off. Oh, there is one thing. Have you come up with a passable method of delivery?"

"I know of a person," Ryan said. "Whenever the Organization recruits him..."

"Are you talking about that boy?" Yoshiteru asked. "Why?"

"That boy has incredible deductive abilities," Ryan said. "And I learned 12 hours ago that the Organization has hit an obstacle. An obstacle that they need a detective to overcome. They'll find a way to make him cooperate. And when that happens, we'll approach him with our plan."

"...I see," Yoshiteru said. "In that case I'd better get back to work. Thanks for lunch."

With that he got out of the car and headed inside his apartment complex.

Ryan sat inside his car. Ethan, he thought, your sacrifice won't be in vain. We'll get her back.

 **Scene Transition**

"I wonder which episode to the Professor has picked out?" Genta said excitedly as they left their final class for the day.

"Huh?" Conan said.

"The Professor invited us to his house to watch some really old Kamen Yaiba," Ayumi said. "Do you want to come, Conan-kun?"

Uh, I have a lot of homework to catch up on," Conan lied. "I can't afford for my grades to drop any lower." I really don't want to sit through that, he thought.

"But Conan, you're at the top of the class!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed. "You've been at the top of the class since you arrived at Teitan Primary School! And also, didn't you tell us earlier that you had finished all your assignments for this week AND next week?"

Heh, Conan thought with a deadpan look. I did say that out loud, didn't I?

Haibara smirked, finding amusement in the thought of Kudo-kun having to sit through a Kamen Yaiba marathon.

 **Scene Transition**

"Where am I?!"

The man gazed at his surroundings frantically. He was in a laboratory surrounded by doctors and a woman dressed in all black. He was lying on a medical bed wearing restraints on his wrists and ankles.

"What is the last thing you remember?" The woman asked him.

"Huh?"

"The last thing you remember," the woman said. "Do you remember the fireflies? Do you remember the rope around your neck?"

"...Yeah. I remember the fireflies. There was no rope around my neck. Not yet. Where am I?"

"That's not important, Numabuchi-san."

"HUH?! How do you know my name?"

"That's also not important. What is important is that we're offering you your freedom."

"What?"

"Indeed. There's just one thing that we need you to do for us first."

"You're with THEM, aren't you?!"

"Certainly we are," the woman said with a smile. "We need your services one last time."

"You're not gonna experiment on me!"

"No, that's not what we have in mind."

"...Then what is it you want with me?"

The woman chuckled. "What is it that you do best?"

The man's eyes widened with a painful realization.

"Oh yes, Numabuchi-san. You know what it is. The sooner you do it, the sooner you'll be free."

"...Who do you want dead?"

"Wait, there's a certain way I want it done. Listen carefully..."

 **Scene Transition**

"So you're staying at that professor's house again?"

"Yeah," Conan said. "He borrowed some really old episodes of Kamen Yaiba for us to watch."

"Geez, you kids and your dumb superheroes," Kogoro said with disdain. "Well, be back before 9:00 PM. When you get home you can ask Ran to heat you up some leftovers. I'll be at my dat...er, appointment with Eri so I won't be back until late tonight."

"Okay, bye." With that Conan hung up. He sighed.

3 hours of Yaiba, he lamented.

The microwave dinged. The Professor put on some oven mitts and set the heated dish on the kitchen table. Conan walked into the living room. He noticed that the Professor had installed a VCR next to the TV. Several videotapes piled on the floor.

Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, and Genta just stood there, staring at the videotapes with a blank look on their faces.

"Conan," Mitsuhiko said, "do you know what these black rectangular things are?"

Conan chuckled out loud. "Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, Genta, those are called VHS tapes. They used to be commonplace in the 1980s and the 1990s, long before you guys were born. You see, what you do is put one inside the VCR and..."

"What's a VCR?" Genta asked.

"Do you see that box-like thing that the Professor hooked up to the TV?" Conan pointed out. "That's a VCR, and believe it or not it's actually very easy to use. Watch me."

He picked up a Kamen Yaiba videotape and tried to gently push it into the VCR. But it wouldn't go in.

"Hm, seems there's already something in there," Conan said. He pushed _Stop_ twice and out came a videotape labeled...

"Kaito Kid's Challenge: Treasure Hunt," Conan read out loud. "Hey, professor!"

The professor rushed into the room. "Yes?"

"Professor, where did you get this VCR?" Conan asked, his facial expression and voice very serious.

"I got it from your..er, Shinichi's house," Dr. Agasa answered. "I figured nobody would mind and I was going to return it after tonight. I would've used my old VCR but I couldn't find it."

This must've been sent to dad by the original Kaito Kid many years ago, Conan thought.

"Conan, let's watch the Kaito Kid video!" Mitsuhiko said.

"Huh?" Conan said. "But what about your...?"

"This sounds even more exciting than Kamen Yaiba!" Ayumi interrupted excitedly.

"Yeah, Conan!" Genta said. "It is buried treasure, after all!"

"Alright then," Conan said. He put the video in the VCR. He turned the TV screen on.

To his surprise...

"Huh? This is a just an old movie!" Genta said.

"Oh, I recognize that movie!" Dr. Agasa said. "It came out in the mid to late 70s. It's called Voyage of the Blue Dragon."

"Voyage of the Blue Dragon?" Conan repeated.

"It's a classic," Dr. Agasa said. "The setting is the end of WWII. It's about the crew of a Japanese aircraft carrier called the Blue Dragon. Whenever the Japanese government surrenders to Allied forces, the Blue Dragon refuses to surrender and it begins a journey to the shores of California so that it can attack San Francisco and restart the Pacific War."

Conan suddenly pushed _Stop_ twice again to eject and he grabbed the VHS tape. He looked at the bottom side of the tape; the label had been cut very precisely with a knife. "Hey, Professor, can you fetch me a screwdriver?"

"Uh, sure," Dr. Agasa said, leaving the room.

Is it what I think it is? Conan thought.

"Hey, Conan, what are you doing?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"The outside of a VHS Tape doesn't serve much of a purpose except to protect what's inside," Conan said. "If my dad...er, Mr. Yusaku Kudo received this tape from the original Kaito Kid as some kind of challenge, then there's no logical reason to believe that he would have received it until after their rivalry began. That dates the sending of this tape to after this technology had become obsolete. There must be a reason why, and I think I know what it is."

Dr. Agasa returned with the screwdriver. Conan placed the VHS Tape on the ground backwards and began removing the five screws that kept it together. He then pushed the release lever on the top and removed the cover, revealing the reel and film. He pulled back on a mechanism at the bottom of the tape, which allowed him to turn the reels and let the film come out. He looked carefully at the film...

"It's just as I thought, then," Conan muttered.

"Conan, we're confused," Ayumi said. "What's going on with the VS tape?"

"Sections have been cut out and the film was then taped back together," Conan said. "That is, parts of the movie have been removed. This is, I suspect, where that magician's game is supposed to begin. Professor, can I see your laptop?"

"Sure," Dr. Agasa said. "But why?"

"This movie has two versions," Conan said. "First, there is the original version. Then, there is Kaito Kid's edited version. We're going to watch both at the same time and compare so that we can figure out what clues he left us."

 **Scene Transition**

He stepped out of the rental car and into the dimly lit, damp parking garage. He began to walk towards the elevator. He pushed the button and waited. He felt goosebumps all over his body; his armpits felt itchy and the top of his head felt strangely numb.

Am I really doing this? He asked himself. How will she...? How many years has it been? Can we really just start up where we left? We've both changed so much...how can things be like they were before? This is a bad idea...I should just walk away.

The elevator door opened. Eri was standing there.

He was so startled that he took a step backwards. Well..do I walk away at this point, when she is standing right in front of me?

"Uh, Eri," Kogoro said awkwardly. "Shouldn't you be...waiting at the restaurant by now?"

"I left the case files in my car," Eri said. "We can't discuss my client without them, right?"

"Uh, right," Kogoro said lamely.

He stood there and waited for Eri to retrieve the case files. Then she came back. The elevator door had closed by this point so he pushed the button again and it reopened. They both stepped inside and Kogoro selected the fifth floor. The elevator door closed, trapping him inside with his estranged wife.

It was really hot all of the sudden; he readjusted his tie.

Eri looked at him funny. "Is everything alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"No, uh, it's nothing," Kogoro said. "Don't worry about it."

What I just said, Kogoro pondered. Am I trying to assure her that nothing will happen tonight? That's what my gut's telling me, right? Just discuss the case and walk away like normal. But...is there any time left for procrastination? How many years must this go on? How many years must be wasted? I've got one life to live...so does Eri. Neither one of us is all that young any more. Ran is already grown and she'll be going to college soon; she grew up in a single-parent household. It's too late for her now, I suppose. Then again...if she commutes from home to college, she could have a few more years living here, her last chance to live in a home with both her mother and father. Even if she does leave home when she starts college, there's still several months in between then and now. She will never get another chance like this; if I do not act tonight, then when will I?

Kogoro and Eri sat down at the table.

"You look good," Kogoro said, hoping to put her in a good mood before he began. And in all fairness, he did think that she looked good.

"Thanks," Eri said, taking a sip of her water.

"Now, about your client," Kogoro said, knowing that he'd need to settle this work-related business before he could get on with what he really wanted to say tonight...

 **Scene Transition**

At last the credits rolled. Conan looked at his watch; the original version of the movie was 2 hours and 14 minutes long, not counting the credits. The edited version was 2 hours and 9 minutes long. There were 7 scenes omitted from the edited version. On paper Conan had recorded the times within the original version when each omitted scene happened.

So, uh, what now?" Genta asked.

"Now we lay review the 7 omitted scenes to lay out Kaito Kid's message," Conan said.

"You know, I've been wondering," Mitsuhiko said. "Where's Ai-chan?"

They all looked at him funny.

"Also, don't ever tell her that I called her that," Mitsuhiko said. "Maybe you can tell her after 20 years have passed, maybe."

"She didn't want to watch the movie so she's in the basement working on the cur...er, playing on the internet," Dr. Agasa said.

"Anyway, what was the first omitted scene?" Conan quizzed.

"Ooh, I know!" Ayumi said. "It was the title card, right?"

"And what was the second omitted scene?" Conan asked.

"That was the scene with the plane landing on a runway in Tokyo, right?" Mitsuhiko said. "It was shocking to see a view of the city from above after it had been bombed!"

"Very good," Conan said. "This sets the parameters of the challenge."

"I don't understand," Genta said.

"The title card shows the name of the movie," Conan said. "What was it again?"

"Voyage of the Blue Dragon," Dr. Agasa said.

"Blue Dragon," Conan said. "Does that remind you of anything?"

He could tell that they were all stumped.

 _"Seiryu_." After having spoken that one word, Haibara entered the room. "What's going on in here?"

"Ah, Haibara," Conan said. "We're trying to crack Kaito Kid's message."

"Message?"

Conan explained the situation to Haibara.

"Wait," Mitsuhiko said after Conan's explanation to Haibara was over. " _Seiryu_. Isn't that name from...?"

"The Kirin's Horn Case," Conan said. "The four statues, remember? Seiryu is a mythological blue dragon who represents the season of spring and the direction of east. He is the eastern guardian of the city of Osaka."

"Osaka?" Genta said. "But that means..."

"That's why Kaito Kid inserted the second hint," Conan said. "The aerial view of..."

"Ah, I get it!" Mitsuhiko declared. "East Tokyo!"

"You got it," Conan said. "There is no place with the official name 'East Tokyo'. What Kaito Kid most likely means is that the search for whatever we're looking for is somewhere in the 24 historical Special Wards of Tokyo."

(Author's note: in reality Tokyo only has 23 Special Wards, but it is assumed here that Beika City, the primary setting for the Detective Conan franchise, is a Special Ward of Tokyo instead of a separate city. This theory is supported by the fact that the local police of Detective Conan serve under the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.)

"But that doesn't tell us much," Dr. Agasa said. "That's still a huge area to search, and we already knew that most of Kaito Kid's heists are in Tokyo."

"Still, it's a start," Conan said. "How about the third omitted scene?"

"That was the scene where the Captain's wife Fumiyo was taking a train ride through the countryside, right?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"Yup," Conan said. "There are two notable things about this scene: first of all, it involves a train. Secondly, it does not take place in Tokyo, where our search is confined to. That the scene takes place outside of the search parameters is meant to show that the train's location within the movie is irrelevant. The train itself is what matters. The third hint is simply, therefore, trains."

"Hold up," Haibara said. "If it's a place in eastern Tokyo known for its trains, then there's only one possible..."

"Shinjuku Station," Conan confirmed. "It is currently the world's busiest train station, with literally millions of people using it every day. That's three hints in and we've already pinpointed the search to Shinjuku Station."

"That seems off to me, somehow," Dr. Agasa said.

"Off?" Conan asked. "How so?"

"Well, Shinjuku Station is extremely crowded," Dr. Agasa said. "If the Kaito Kid hid something and expected Yusaku Kudo to find it, why would he hide it somewhere with so many people? Wouldn't that just increase the likelihood of somebody finding it and ruining the riddle?"

He has a point, Conan thought. That doesn't sound like something the Kaito Kid would do. The station...Shinjuku is famous for it.

"Perhaps the Kaito Kid pointed out Shinjuku Station just to point out Shinjuku?" Conan suggested.

He looked down at the piece of paper he had written on. "And the fourth hint is...the scene that takes place in Washington D.C."

"The capital of the United States?" Dr. Agasa said.

"The keyword must be capital, then," Conan said.

"Hold on!" Mitsuhiko said. "Tokyo is already the capital of Japan! Isn't that hint a little redundant?"

"Not really," Conan said. "As a hint, it's not referring to a capital city, seeing as how Tokyo has already been established as the location of whatever we're searching for. Rather, it's probably referring to a capital building. That is, a building where the government meets."

"Wait a second!" Genta said. "That must mean the building where the National Diet meets, rights?"

"Wrong," Haibara said. "That building is in Chiyoda, not Shinjuku. Well, given that the Imperial Palace is also in Chiyoda it can't be that either."

"You guys are all forgetting something," Conan said. "The second hint is Tokyo. The fourth hint is capital. We could look at it as being the capital which is located in Tokyo, or..."

He paused for a few seconds. There was no reply, which indicated they were all stumped. Conan sighed.

"The capital of Tokyo!" Conan said. "The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building!"

"...Oh!" Mitsuhiko said, now understanding what Conan was getting at. "So we now know the building to search!"

"Not so fast," Agasa said. "Conan, aren't there more hints?"

"Oh yeah," Conan said. He looked down at his paper. "The fifth omitted scene is..."

"Ooh! I know!" Ayumi said. "It's the scene where those generals are sitting in a room discussing how to find the Blue Dragon!"

"And what do you guys think is the hint here?" Conan asked.

"Meeting, session," Haibara said. "A person in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government who holds meetings. A politician."

"A member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly," Conan said. "This is...we're looking for a person!"

"What's the sixth omitted scene?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"It was that scary scene!" Ayumi said. "The one where the captain shot the crew member who tried to start a mutiny."

Conan gasped. Don't tell me...! he thought.

"Hey!" Haibara exclaimed, finally realising the situation. "Surely the message doesn't mean to say that...!"

"A member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly is guilty of murder," Conan confirmed. "This is what the original Kaito Kid was trying to tell Yusaku Kudo. Wait here, guys; I need to make a phone call."

 **Scene Transition**

Eisuke Hondou stepped outside of the airport. At last, he was on Japanese soil again.

What am I going to do now? he thought.

After hearing about the death of his sister, he was given a week off from training. He figured that he would spend some time by himself, get over it and then go back to CIA University (which is located in Virginia). Oddly enough, however, that wasn't the case. After one week passed he returned to training but it was like suddenly his daily routine was totally meaningless. He was constantly wondering to himself what the heck he was still doing there. His sister was dead; so was his father. Even if he joined the CIA he'd only be surrounded by a bunch of strangers.

Finally, after having lost all motivation, he dropped out. Now here he was, back in Japan. What was he going to do now? Re-enroll in Teitan High School, perhaps? Graduate and then go to a normal college? Perhaps the college that Ran Mouri would attend? He really didn't know what he'd do.

Except for one thing, that is.

That's right, he thought. I'm going to find him and talk to him in person. He is going to tell me exactly what happened to my sister, even if I have to force that information out of him. Conan Edogawa...no, Shinichi Kudo...I'm going to pay you a visit real soon!

 **Scene Transition**

Conan re-entered the living room.

"I was just on the phone with Yusaku Kudo," Conan said. "He got the tape from the Kaito Kid 13 years ago. Apparently he had been unable to solve it."

"So we need to figure out who the members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly 13 years ago were."

"That part shouldn't be too difficult," Haibara said. "However, I just did an internet search and it turns out that at any given time the assembly has 127 members."

"A hundred and twenty seven?!" Dr. Agasa exclaimed. "How are we going to narrow that down?"

Conan sighed. "I guess we're just going to have to review the seventh omitted scene."

"Ooh, I know this one!" Genta said. "It was that scene where the Blue Dragon was surrounded by American navy boats. The captain of the Blue Dragon pointed a gun to his head and shot himself." He shuddered at the thought.

Conan gasped.

"What is it?" Ayumi asked Conan. "Have you figured it out?"

"...Nope," Conan said. "I haven't got a clue."

They all looked disappointed.

"Well, we can continue this tomorrow," Conan said. "I'm tired and I'd like to sleep on my own bed tonight."

 **Scene Transition**

Conan stepped outside. Two seconds later Haibara stepped outside.

"So, who is it?" she asked, knowing that he had figured it out and didn't want kids involved in his confrontation with the culprit.

"The last hint was pretty easy," Conan said. "It was, of course, 'head'. The head is the central component of the body because it houses the brain, from which consciousness stems. This fact is reflected in some other languages, such as English, where head can also mean leader."

"Leader," Haibara said. "So what you mean is that the culprit is the President of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly."

"Yeah," Conan said.

"In that case you should know that 13 years ago Satoru Domon was head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly," Haibara said. "13 years ago a woman named Tamako Midorikawa was murdered. She was a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly as well as a fierce critic of Satoru Domon. Her murder made the headlines and a lot of people suspected that Satoru Domon killed her. However, he denied it profusely and the police never found any evidence that he did it. In the end, her murder was blamed on gang violence because she had also taken a strong anti-crime stance."

"I just have one more question," Conan said. "Is there any available recording of her voice?"

"Hold on!" Haibara protested. "Surely you don't plan on...?!"

"Yeah, that's right," Conan said with a confident grin. "I'm going to make him confess everything."

"...I doubt that I'd be able to dissuade you, then," Haibara said. "Hold on a moment; the Professor has been building a power brace for someone your size. I'll go retrieve it for you now."

 **Scene Transition**

"Did you hear Ayako's announcement?" Sonoko asked over the phone.

"Yeah," Ran said, sitting at her father's desk. "She and Yuzo are getting married in 3 weeks, right? That's so great for them!"

There was a pause.

"So," Sonoko then said. "Have you talked to your husband ever since your birthday?"

"No," Ran said, ignoring Sonoko's typical reference to Shinichi as 'your husband'. "I'm usually the one who calls him, but...I don't have the nerve to do so, after what I told him the last time I saw him."

"Oh, that?" Sonoko asked. "But didn't he tell you that same thing back in London?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"Ran, this is perfect for you!" Sonoko said. "At long last, the two of you know how the other person feels, and it turns out that the feeling is mutual. What are you waiting for, then?"

Ran didn't know how to respond.

"What was the other thing he told you?" Sonoko reminded. "It was for you to wait on him a little longer. He was making you a promise, Ran. Whenever he comes back for good, then the two of you will be together like you both want to be."

"I've never been in a relationship before," Ran said. "I don't know what's supposed to happen next."

"You don't plan out and schedule a relationship, silly," Sonoko said.

Believe me, I've tried, she thought, referring to her failed schemes involving Makoto.

"So...what should I do then?" Ran asked.

"When the time comes, you'll know," Sonoko said. "The two of you are compatible; I know that because I've been observing you two for years. I knew that eventually you would end up together, and it turns out I was right. I guess I'm as great a love detective as I am a crime detective!"

She started laughing haughtily, in a manner extremely similar to Kogoro.

And yet you're dating someone who's totally incompatible with you, Ran thought with a deadpan look.

"Speaking of love, I hear your old man's out on a date with your mom," Sonoko said.

"Yeah," Ran said. "But they've been out on a lot of dates like this one since they separated. Nothing special has ever happened, so...I don't really want to get my hopes up. There've been several times when I really thought they would get back together and then I just ended up disappointed. Mother's not going to move back in as long as father still drinks, and he's never going to quit drinking. I should've accepted this fact by now, but..."

"Ran, do you even hear yourself?" Sonoko asked. "Don't talk like that! You have to keep on hoping until the end. If you give up on your parents, then you might as well give up on Shinichi too."

Ran was stunned.

"You know, Ran, I heard a quote once, and for the life of me I cannot remember who said it, but here it is: a man can live forty days without food, three days without water, eight minutes without air, but not one second without hope."

There was a pause.

"So," Sonoko said. "Are you going to Ayako's wedding?"

"I wouldn't miss it," Ran said. "As soon as you figure out the exact date, tell me."

"Will do," Sonoko said. "Bye." Then she hung up.

Ran sank back into the chair, deep in thought.

Hope, she mused. Whether the final outcome is good or bad is independent of one's level of hope. Hope is a coping method, something to keep us from feeling overwhelming anxiety in an uncertain situation. It can keep us mired down in a deadly place which we would otherwise escape from; it can hold us back from taking needed action. But...whenever the only possible outcome is inescapable destruction, isn't false hope better than despair? Is knowing the truth always what's best? If I had to die tomorrow...would I really want to know?

 **Scene Transition**

"Farewell, dear. It was a truly wonderful night."

The man stepped outside of the house of the woman in the revealing red dress. He got into his car and drove off.

He arrived at his house, which was quite expensive and large. He took a wedding ring out from his pocket and reapplied it to his finger. He stepped inside his home.

"Honey, I'm home," he called out. "That meeting lasted a bit longer than I expected."

He stepped inside of his bedroom. His wife was lying there asleep in bed.

She must've been tired today, he thought.

He took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and then lied down in bed.

"Saaatttooorrruuu..."

He got up quickly. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

He looked at his wife. She was still fast asleep.

"Wwwwhhhyy diid you muurrdeer me...?"

That voice...! he thought. It can't be! She's dead!

"Saaatttooorrruuuu...Doooommmmooonnn! My blood cries out against you!"

Satoru Domon ran to the closet and grabbed a wooden bat.

"Show yourself, you son of a b***h!" he declared.

"You muuurrderred me...whhhyyy?"

He looked under the bed. There was nobody there. He checked the closet again. There was nobody there.

Finally he ran outside the bedroom and into the hall. There was nobody there either. He started checking room by room to find the intruder.

"Sattooorrruuu...Doommoon! Whhhyyy?!" the sound followed him in every room of the house.

Finally, he returned to his bedroom and grabbed his phone to dial 110. However, it wouldn't turn on. He then grabbed his wife's phone; it wouldn't turn on either.

"Satoru Domon! I will not go unavenged!"

"W-what do you want?!" he asked, panicky. "Tamako Midorikawa! What do you want from me?"

"Why did you...murder me?!"

"You know why!" he shouted. "You threatened to expose the 5 million Yen I embezzled from my campaign funds during my failed run for governor of Tokyo Prefecture! Of course I had to kill you!"

"Thank you for your confession, Speaker-san."

With that, Conan emerged from a corner.

A...kid?! Satoru Domon thought. "Huh?"

"There's no one here but the two of us," Conan said. "I knocked your wife out with my tranquiliser gun."

"B-but the...!" Satoru Domon began.

"I placed miniature speakers all across the house," Conan said. "I used this voice-changing bowtie to emulate Tamako Midorikawa's voice, which was transmitted through the speakers. By the way, I recorded the whole conversation. I'll give you two options: either surrender to the police immediately or I will send them your recorded confession."

"Who are you?" Satoru Domon demanded.

"Conan Edogawa, a detective." As he spoke he turned on his power-enhancing kick shoes.

"Y-you...!" Satoru Domon said. "YOU STUPID KID! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

He charged at Conan, who then pressed the button on his belt and released an inflatable soccer ball. He kicked it, striking Satoru Domon squarely in the face and knocking him out.

"Wrong choice," Conan said.

 **Scene Transition**

"Ran-neechan, I'm home!"

Conan stepped inside the Mouri Residency and closed the door behind him.

"Conan! It's 9:13!"

Conan looked at his watch.

Crap, he thought. That took longer than I thought.

"Uh, sorry," Conan said with a nervous chuckle. "I guess I lost track of the time watching Kamen Yaiba."

Ran sighed. "There's some soup on the stove. I'll reheat some for you. Eat, shower, and then go to bed. You've got school tomorrow and you know your bedtime is at 9."

Conan nodded.

 **Scene Transition**

After having eaten, showered, brushed his teeth, and changed into his pajamas, Conan lied down in bed. Just when he closed his eyes he heard the sound of somebody knocking. He got up and opened the door, but nobody was there.

Then he heard the knocking sound again; he then realised that the knocking was coming from...

The window?

Conan walked over to the window and opened the door. Kaito Kid then jumped into the room, to Conan's utter shock. He actually fell over in his fright.

"Long time no see," Kaito Kid said.

"Don't do that!" Conan protested, standing up. "You almost scared me to death!"

"Sorry about that," Kaito Kid said. "I didn't want to use the front entrance. Anyways, I hear that you've solved my father's riddle."

"Huh?" Conan said. "How'd you find out about that so fast?"

"Check the news," Kaito Kid said, pulling out his phone to show Conan what he was talking about. "Word's gotten out about the anonymous tip to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department with evidence implicating Satoru Domon in the murder of Tamako Midorikawa. We do live in a world where news spreads fast, after all; especially news as big as this. Even American newspapers are in a frenzy about this story. Satoru Domon claimed that a kid in glasses confronted him, and when I heard that I knew you must've figured out my father's riddle to Yusaku Kudo."

"Uh, yeah," Conan said, not really knowing what to say.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," Kaito Kid said.

"I just have one question," Conan said, regaining his composure. "How did your father discover that Satoru Domon was Tamako Midorikawa's killer?"

"Well, it turns out that he was up on a rooftop using binoculars to scout out a local area for an upcoming heist when he witnessed Tamako Midorikawa and Satoru Domon arguing in an alley. He then saw Satoru Domon pull out a silenced gun and shoot her in the head."

"He couldn't have just sent the police an anonymous tip?" Conan asked, annoyed.

"Nah, he wanted to see if Yusaku Kudo could solve his riddle," Kaito Kid said. "It turns out that he never could."

"And with that a 13 year old murder case has been laid to rest," Conan said.

"Indeed," the Kaito Kid said. "You know, I never got to pay you back for setting me up as bait on a train car filled with explosives!"

Before Conan could react Kaito Kid pulled out a gun and pointed it at Conan's head.

Conan was stunned; he never thought that Kaito Kid would resort to violence.

"Any last words?" Kaito Kid asked, a murderous grin on his face.

Conan tried to think of a way out of this. He wasn't wearing the special shoes or the belt. His stun gun wristwatch was empty. Even if he dodged, the gunshot would alert Ran, who was currently asleep. She'd come check on Conan and then she too would be in danger.

"None?" Kaito Kid asked. "Well, that's too bad, kid."

He pulled the trigger, and out came...

Flowers?

Is there a nearby store that I've never heard of selling those? Conan thought with a deadpan look.

"See you later, sucker!" Kaito Kid shouted. He ran towards the window and jumped out. For a split second Conan actually thought that the Kid might be plunging to his doom until he saw a hang glider rise to meet the full moon.

 **Scene Transition**

"All of the evidence suggests it," Kogoro said. "Your client is, in fact, the culprit."

Eri sighed. "Excellent work, dear, like usual."

She looked at his glass.

"You haven't taken a sip of that wine all evening," she said, surprised.

"I wanted to stay sober tonight," Kogoro said. "Because tonight...I have something very important to ask you."

 **To Be Continued**

 **Ending:**

(Red by BREAKERZ)

I'll never forget the moment when I realized you were gone

Your body was cold as ice in my arms, a beautiful empty shell

A burning tear streaked across my face, I could hardly breathe

They pried me away, scratch marks engraved into your flesh

I'll never forget that moment when they laid you in the ground

Walking away that day was the hardest thing I've ever had to do

I returned to my life a robot, the days coming and going like clouds

I fell into bed, begging for the day to end while dreading tomorrow

I used to think the world was black, white, and a multitude of brilliant colors

But now the only colors in my world are gray and a maddening shade of red

That man's face is burned into the back of my head, haunting my sleepless nights

I know what I have to do tonight, even if I must be no longer the man you loved


	2. Episode 911

"All of the evidence suggests it," Kogoro said. "Your client is, in fact, the culprit."

Eri sighed. "Excellent work, dear, like usual."

She looked at his glass.

"You haven't taken a sip of that wine all evening," she said, surprised.

"I wanted to stay sober tonight," Kogoro said. "Because tonight...I have something very important to ask you."

He looked around the restaurant, making sure that they had some privacy before continuing.

"Yes, what is it?" Eri asked, not suspecting anything at this point. Or if she did, she gave no outward indication of such.

Kogoro tried to go ahead and say it, but he didn't have the nerve. So, he decided to stall a bit first and build up his confidence.

"Uh, do you remember the 3 day vacation in Kyoto that we took when Ran was 5?" Kogoro asked.

Eri was a bit surprised by the question. "Uh, yeah. We visited all those beautiful and magnificent temples and shrines. We walked the Philosopher's Path when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom."

"We visited Fushimi Inari-Taisha and climbed to the summit of Mount Inari through a path with thousands of Torii gates," Kogoro said.

"You're wrong," Eri said. "We didn't reach the summit. We reached the Yotsutsuji intersection and then descended because we were tired and the walk to the summit would've taken another forty five minutes. Plus, I think Ran was feeling hot and she wanted to go back inside where there was air conditioning."

She sighed. "Those were some good times, weren't they?"

"Back in the day, Ran live in a home with both parents," Kogoro said.

Wait, Eri thought. Is he planning on…?

"Eri, that is what I came here to talk to you about today," Kogoro said, noticing that look on his wife's face. "Ran is 18 years old now. She's going to be starting college soon. Our daughter is grown up, and she was raised without a mother."

Eri's temper flared. "Are you saying this is my fault?! Who was it that came home drunk night after night, sometimes with lipstick on his cheek? Who was it that once lost 50,000 Yen on a single horse racing bet, whenever Ran had a deadly fever and we needed the money to pay her medical expenses? Who was it that made Ran wait after karate practice for 5 hours because he was drunk at a friend's house instead of on his way to pick her up? How DARE you try to make me the bad guy here!"

She abruptly stood up and ran away.

That b***h, Kogoro thought, remaining seated. I wasn't even trying to blame her. And yet she starts bringing up every little mistake I've ever made. I've been drinking for years and Ran turned out just fine! I came here tonight trying to restore our marriage; what has she done to further this end, huh?! Screw this! I'm going home. That b***h can stay single the rest of her life for all I care!

Kogoro lifted the glass of wine to his lips so that he could drink. For some reason, however, he hesitated.

This has been going on for years, he thought, his momentary outburst of anger having subsided. Back on forth. All Eri wanted from me all these years of our separation is for me to admit what I've done wrong, apologise, and beg for her to come back. It's so simple, and yet…why haven't I done it? Maybe it's…my pride? I don't want to admit that I've been a lousy husband and a lousy father. I don't want to admit that I've thrown my life away and hurt everyone around me because I've been a slave to the bottle. I am an addict. An addict. Addict…More specifically, I'm an alcoholic.

He put the drink down.

That's right, he thought. An alcoholic. I drink. It's what I do. It's too late for me to regain what I once had, so why shouldn't I just…drink? It'd be so easy for me to just forget about Eri, drink and then go home. Ran's used to this, so she won't even give me a hard time about it. Not really, anyway. I should just drink this whole thing and get wasted. I'm so thirsty, and there's a drink right in front of me. Easy…

He picked up the drink again. He took a sip, and then another. Soon the glass was empty…

 **OPENING:**

( _Ai Wa Te Saguri Kurayami No Naka De_ by ZARD, in the key of A Minor)

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

(As the end draws near the war's fallout results in tougher and tougher cases! To save Ran's life, will I have to join the Men in Black? Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child and the mind of an adult, my name is... _Meitantei Conan!)_

 _Yoake wo highway_

 _Kono omoi to be your slave_

 _Oh tonight and every night you'd be mine_

 _Meutsuri ki ni naru koi no kakehiki_

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa ki magure beat ni dakare_

 _Mitsumete in your eyes_

 _Ai wa maboroshi kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa furuete beat ni dakare_

 _Kono mama in your eyes, oh yeah!_

 **Black Gambit: Part Two!**

 **The Next Day**

"Conan-kun!"

Conan slowly got up. He looked at his watch and then towards the other side of the room; Kogoro wasn't there.

No wonder I got up late, Conan thought with a deadpan look. I'm usually woken by the sound of uncle lumbering out of bed while muttering strange noises.

"Where's uncle?" Conan asked.

"He got drunk so he stayed with one of his mahjong buddies for the night," Ran said, irritation in her voice. "Anyways, you need to get ready for school."

 **Scene Transition**

"Have a good day at school!"

"Okay, I will."

As soon as she stepped off of the professor's property, she turned around to make sure that he had gone back inside. Sure enough, he was busy working on a new invention for kudo-kun and he didn't waste any time heading back inside.

That man, she thought. So it's true. All of my suspicions regarding him were correct. If it weren't for him, my sister would still be alive. Sure, Gin was the one who pulled the trigger, but that was only because this man associated himself openly with Akemi while infiltrating the Organization. If he had any human decency he would've stayed away from her; she was not part of the Organization's illicit activities and she certainly did not deserve to be put in harm's way.

She ran around to the back of the Kudo residence. She looked at her watch; she had told the professor that she wanted to leave for school early today so that she could go visit a kitten that was being taken care of at Dr. Araide's clinic. This would give her approximately twenty minutes to make her move before she had to show up for school. In addition, she had "borrowed" one of the professor's inventions. She held the device in her hand and looked at it…

Provided that Subaru Okiya had acted in a manner consistent with his daily routine, he should've left the Kudo residence about thirty minutes ago, and he wouldn't stop by the house again for several hours. Even if he had expected her to take action against him after her discovery of his identity, he should've be at least slightly less on his guard considering that she took no action whatsoever on the day immediately following that night. She was now wondering if she should've waited one more day, but she didn't have the patience.

She tried the back door; it was locked. Fortunately for her, during her time in the Organization she had received training to handle situations like this. She took out a lock pick and unlocked the door within a few seconds. She opened the door, stepped inside, and closed the door behind her.0

Now, she thought…I can send that man straight to hell.

 **Scene Transition**

"Let the inquiry begin."

Bourbon and Rum sat in the dimly lit room, a large TV screen hanging on the wall. The screen was projecting the image of 3 rotating black monoliths with the red Latin script phrase _Sound Only_ inscribed into them.

"Rum-san, we have heard that you have come up with a solution to our problem," one of the monoliths said. "Did we hear correctly?"

"Yes," Rum said, speaking into his microphone. "You have. First of all, I would like to bring in a witness."

There was a pause. "…Proceed."

Rum stood raised a walkie-talkie to his mouth. "Bring him in."

The side door opened and in walked…

Vodka.

He stood next to Bourbon, who handed him a microphone.

"Vodka," Rum said. "Recall for us the events of your capture."

Vodka was silent for a moment, a bit ashamed over his capture being brought up. "Well, Gin gave me a call and told me he needed my help in capturing that Kudo guy because his first try was a failure."

"Gin went behind our backs?" the floating monolith asked.

"Huh?" Vodka said. "Gin told me that he okayed the mission with The Boss."

"This is a new development," one of the monoliths said. "Pinot Noir never told us about any such operation."

"You imbecile!" another monolith shouted. "Why would you mention such a classified piece of information where a subordinate without clearance can hear you?"

"Vodka-kun, please, continue," the third monolith said in a calm voice. "Did Gin give you any specific information?"

"Not really," Vodka said. "According to that other guy who was with us Kudo was being held at Tropical Land, but the whole thing was just a trap."

"Kudo?" one of the monoliths asked. "Do you mean Shinichi Kudo?"

"Other guy?" another one of the monoliths repeated. "What did he look like?"

"Well, he had this cap on his head, he was wearing glasses, a beard, and he looked kind of like a white person but not really. His face was wrinkly."

"…Was he called Moonshine by any chance?" one of the monoliths asked.

"Dunno," Vodka said. "At one point Gin mentioned Ale. That is, his brother. I've been on one mission with Ale, but that guy with us who led us into that trap wasn't Ale. He wasn't with the Organization either. I think he was in some kind of disguise."

"A disguise?" one of the monoliths asked. "Why did you think that?"

"Because his voice just changed all of the sudden," Vodka said. "It was right when the trap was being sprung. It was like a teenage boy's voice or something."

"If we played a recording of his voice, would you recognize it?" one of the monoliths asked.

"Yeah, probably," Vodka said.

There was a momentary pause. And then…

"But no matter if the murderer knew this or not, I'm almost sure he stole the card from Mr. Mummy. In the bathroom."

"W-wait," Vodka said. "Yeah, I think that was what he sounded like."

"Very well then," one of the monoliths said. "Thank you for your testimony, Vodka-kun. For this we shall overlook your recent failure."

"Th-thank you." With that Vodka got up and left.

As soon as he was gone…

"Therefore it's confirmed that Shinichi Kudo is still alive," Rum concluded. "Gin failed to kill him."

There was a pause. "Rum, do you believe that he is the silver bullet?"

"I hardly see how," Bourbon said. "Of what I've heard, he's just a cocky teenage detective brat."

"This isn't why I brought him up," Rum said. "If Shinichi Kudo is still alive, then so is his deductive reasoning abilities. If we can find a way to make him use these skills for our benefit…"

"What do you have in mind, Rum?" one of the monoliths asked.

"In the aftermath of his disappearance, we dispatched a team led by Shiho Miyano to find him," Rum said. "He was not present at his home or anywhere else that they looked. After the day of his disappearance he stopped showing up for school, though a few days ago we've discovered that his school's records show that he did suddenly show up for a single day of class a few months afterwards."

"Yes, we have been briefed on this," one of the monoliths said. "What is your point?"

"His point is that since Shinichi Kudo is still alive yet he's disappeared off the face of the earth, he doesn't want to be found," Bourbon said. "Am I right?"

"Yes," Rum said. "To make use of his services, we first have to find him."

"And how do we do that?" Bourbon asked.

"By creating an event that he will most definitely show up for," Rum said. "Normal human beings are…flawed. For the sake of emotional sentiments they will take illogical risks."

"Emotional Sentiment?" one of the monoliths asked. "Clarify, please."

"According to our intelligence-gathering service, Shinichi Kudo has several friends," Rum said. "The closest of these friends is a Ran Mouri, age 18. If we kill Ran Mouri, then he will almost certainly attend her funeral, no matter where on earth he is now."

"We will proceed as you have suggested then," one of the monoliths said. "What remains now is the question of who will carry out this mission."

"That person been itching to get back into the game, hasn't he?" Bourbon said. "Why do you send him?"

"Very well, then…we will send Gin."

 **Scene Transition**

"What is 8 times 9?"

"72!" the class responded in unison.

"Correct," Sumiko Kobayashi said. "What's 8 times 10?"

"80!" the class answered.

Conan sighed. He was capable of instantly solving far more difficult multiplication problems than this. Even when he was actually 8 years old he thought this was easy.

"Conan-kun?"

Conan cringed; Ayumi had noticed that he wasn't speaking up. Meanwhile, Haibara was sitting next to him quite blatantly reading a magazine.

"88!" Conan chimed in with forced enthusiasm. "96! 104! 112! 120! 128! 136! 144…"

Everyone in the classroom was staring at him now. Realizing this, he chuckled awkwardly.

Haibara put the magazine down and gave him the evil eye. The unspoken message was clear: don't act too smart for an 8 year old.

Sumiko stared at him for a few seconds and then continued with the multiplication set.

Conan sighed in relief. Suddenly, however, he felt his phone vibrating.

A call? He thought.

He pulled out his Shinichi Kudo phone and looked at the number presented. The caller was Kazuha Toyama.

Conan raised his hand. "Kobayashi-sensei, I have to go to the bathroom!"

Without waiting for her answer he got up and ran off.

 **Scene Transition**

He entered the bathroom; there was nobody else there. He re-dialed Kazuha's number and clicked "Call". He took out his voice-changing bowtie.

"Hello?" he said.

"Is this Shinichi?" Kazuha asked.

"Yeah," Conan said. "Why did you call me?"

"Are you busy right now?" Kazuha asked.

"Yeah," Conan said. "But if your business with me is urgent then you can tell me now."

"Well, it's not really urgent," Kazuha said. "What time will you not be busy?"

Conan told her the time.

"Okay then," she said. "I'll call you back then."

"Okay, bye…"

"WAIT!"

Huh? Conan thought.

"I just remembered," Kazuha said. "It would be best if we communicated by a videochat."

Conan cringed. "A-and why is that?"

"Because you're going to need to see for yourself that thing which I need your help for," Kazuha said.

Conan sighed in relief. If that was the case then he wouldn't need to likewise show his face. "Okay then. Here's my account number so that you can send me a videochat."

He told her.

"Have you written that down?" he asked.

"I've got a good enough memory to remember something like that," she said, almost indignant. "Okay, I'll call you then. Goodbye."

Then she hung up.

 **Scene Transition**

"And so, Japanese forces advanced upon the Chinese city of Nanking and tens of thousands of Chinese civilians suddenly died for no apparent reason."

Ran sat in history class, waiting for the bell to ring.

Outside, a man was hiding behind a tree and peering into the window, watching Ran.

It took me long enough, he thought, but…I've found you!

He took out his knife, which he had spent an hour sharpening earlier that day. He licked it and grinned like a homicidal maniac would.

He took out a cigarette and lit it.

One more job, and then…

 **Scene Transition**

Back from school, Conan was now sitting down on a couch in his own house. He had phoned uncle to let him know that once again the "four-eyed nosy brat" would be staying at the Professor's house, though this was a lie.

He had stopped by Dr. Agasa's place to pick up Shinichi Kudo's laptop. He was now creating an online account for videochat purposes, one with the same username which he told Kazuha.

Subaru Okiya stepped inside, carrying grocery bags.

"Hi there," he said. "What are you up to?"

"Heiji's friend wants the adult me to talk to her through videochat," Conan said. "I don't know why yet."

"Perhaps she likes you?" Subaru Okiya said.

"Huuh?" Conan said, blushing. "N-no! She's Heiji's girlfriend!"

Kind of, he thought with a deadpan look. It's complicated.

"A videochat," Subaru mused. "You obviously haven't taken any kind of pill yet."

"It's fine," Conan said. "In videochat you have the option of not showing your face. Instead I'm just going to use an avatar. Or, more specifically, a stylized Latin script _S_."

" _S_?"

"That's the first letter of my real name when spelled using the Latin alphabet," Conan said. "I got the idea from a supernatural crime anime show that I watched when I was little…and there! My account is up."

He looked at his watch. "3 minutes before she's scheduled to call."

Subaru looked at Conan's computer screen. "HolmesApprentice0504? Wow, how creative."

"It was the only thing I could think of during that phone call," Conan said.

He yawned.

"Long day?" Subaru asked.

"Long and monotonous," Conan said.

"You want me to fix you some coffee?" Subaru asked.

"Yes please," Conan said. "Make it black."

 **Scene Transition**

"Hi!" Kazuha said, waving into the camera.

"Greetings, Kazuha," Conan/Shinichi said, his _S_ icon being displayed instead of his face. "Would you mind explaining what this is about?"

"Uh, yeah," Kazuha said. "You see, this case came up."

"Hey, surely you don't mean to say that Heiji can't solve it…!"

"Something like that, yeah," Kazuha said. "You see, Heiji's had this a really nasty stomach virus since last night and he needs his bed rest. If I told him about the case, he'd surely go investigate it even though he needs to rest. If I didn't tell him until after he recovered and the investigation was closed by that time while the culprit got away, he'd be upset that I didn't tell him."

"Hey, Kazuha, who are you talking to?" Heiji, who was in the room across the hall from Kazuha, asked.

Kazuha winced. "Uh, nobody! Go back to sleep!"

"Anyway," she said to Conan/Shinichi, much quieter this time, "I'd like for you to solve this case on Heiji's behalf. If that's alright with you, anyway."

"Sure," Conan/Shinichi said. "It's not like I've got anything better to do."

And Ran's fixing meatloaf with raisins tonight, he thought with a deadpan look. There's no way I'm eating that. I'll just stay overnight here instead.

"Great!" Kazuha said. "The reason that I wanted to use videochat was that I can show you around the crime scene. I mean, it was that or ask you to take a plane to Osaka, right?"

"This is fine," Conan/Shinichi said. "At least this way I can solve the crime from the comfort of my own house."

"Wait, you're home right now?" Kazuha asked. "Does Ran know?"

"N-no!" Conan/Shinichi said, alarmed. "Don't tell her anything! I've got my…reasons."

"…Fine," Kazuha said. "I won't tell her anything. I'd like to know why. Also, why won't you show your face instead of hiding behind that profile pic?"

"L-like I said, I have my reasons!" Conan/Shinichi said. "Anyway, tell me more about this case."

"I'll tell you along the way," Kazuha said.

 **Scene Transition**

"Eight hours hours ago Saburo Uemura, age 26, was taken in for questioning for the murder of his girlfriend, Toshiko Aizawa, age 27," Kazuha said. "The murder occurred approximately ten hours ago. However, he insists that he didn't kill her."

"Uh, I think I'm going to need a bit more information than that," Conan/Shinichi said.

"I'll be at the crime scene in a few minutes," Kazuha said. "You'll be free to conduct your own investigation then."

"So you're Shinichi Kudo, eh?" Ginshiro Toyama, Kazuha's father, said from the driver's seat. "Heiji-kun has a very high opinion of you. I hope to see why that is tonight."

"Anyway, Saburo Uemura is waiting for us at the crime scene, as is Mitsushi Oda, the second most likely culprit," Heizo Hattori said from the front left seat. "He was the victim's former boyfriend, age 26."

"That certainly might give him a motive," Conan/Shinichi said. "But that alone can't be enough to make him the secondary suspect."

"You'll see whenever you get there," Ginshiro Toyama said.

 **Scene Transition**

Kazuha, Ginshiro Toyama, and Heizo Hattori arrived at the residence of the now-deceased Toshiko Aizawa. Kazuha got out of the car, holding the laptop in her arms while having it face outwards. Conan/Shinichi could now see the house in question. Saburo Uemura and Mitsushi Oda were in the garage right next to two police officers.

"So I guess this 'outside consultant' has finally arrived then," Mitsushi Oda said with a smug look on his face. "Huh? It's a teenage girl? With a…computer?"

"Heck no," Conan/Shinichi replied. "I am the outside consultant. This girl is here to carry the laptop around, since I can't be there in person. Who are you, Saburo or Mitsushi?"

"I'm Mitsushi. The murderer standing next to me is Saburo."

"Why you…!" Saburo said. "I didn't murder anybody! I was framed!"

"There now," Conan/Shinichi said, trying to ease the tensions. "The truth will be discerned soon enough. In the meantime, Saburo-san, can you start by telling me your side of the story?"

"Sure," Saburo said. "I stayed over here at Toshiko's place last night. Anyway, early in the day I woke up before she did and started fixing some pancakes. Because, you know, that's what a romantic boyfriend would do. They didn't turn out quite right though. Anyways, I woke her up and we headed to the dining room to eat. But then that b****rd Mitsushi showed up. He just came inside without knocking and started acting like a total a**. After a minute Toshiko told him that she'd call the cops if he didn't leave. After he did, I sat down to eat, but…"

There was a pause.

"Please, continue," Conan/Shinichi said.

"Half an hour later I just started feeling sick all of the sudden," Saburo said. "Like, really sick. Toshiko decided to rush me to the hospital. I felt like I needed to lie down, so I got in the backseat. She was backing out of the driveway whenever the front left door suddenly opened all by itself, and then…!"

He suddenly burst into tears. "There was a f***ing bullet hole in her forehead! So…so, I panicked. I got into the front, closed that door, put her body in the back, and drove to the hospital. I hoped that there was something the doctors could do to save her."

"We've confirmed that he showed up at a local hospital a few minutes later and that Toshiko was pronounced dead shortly afterwards," Ginshiro Toyama said.

"So his trip to the hospital has been confirmed," Conan/Shinichi said. "How about any of the rest of what he said?"

"Well, actually, there is that one thing," Heizo Hattori said. "Across the street from Toshiko-san's house is the home of Yutaka Kawaguchi, age 68. He has evidence which has proven invaluable to our investigation."

"Evidence?" Conan/Shinichi asked.

 **Scene Transition**

Kazuha, Ginshiro Toyama, and Heizo Hattori were inside the home of Yutaka Kawaguchi.

"Ah, so you have a camera monitoring the street?" Conan/Shinichi asked.

"Y-yeah," Kawaguchi-san said. "A few months ago some punks made a habit of intruding on my land and spraying graffiti on my house when I wasn't home, so I bought a security camera to deter them. It not only captures my house but also the road next to my house and a few yards of Toshiko-kun's driveway."

"And you've captured footage relevant to the crime?" Conan/Shinichi asked.

"That he has," Ginshiro Toyama said. "Kawaguchi-san, can you show it to us again, please?"

Kawaguchi-san nodded. They followed him to a back room where a monitor had been set up.

"This should only take me a minute or so," Kawaguchi-san said. "I need to find the right times…and there!"

He began playing the first piece of relevant footage. In it, Mitsushi's car drove up into Toshiko's driveway.

Then he played the second piece of relevant footage. Dated just a few minutes after the first, it showed Mitsushi's car leaving the driveway and then driving off to the right (from the perspective of somebody looking from Kawaguchi-san's house).

Then he played the third piece of relevant footage. Dated about a half hour after the second, it showed Toshiko's car backing out of the driveway. Strangely enough, it suddenly backed out right onto the road without turning to the left or right. The car then stopped, just sitting there in the middle of the road. After about ten seconds the car began moving, and it turned into a lane and drove off. The car windows were abnormally tinted, so no person inside of the car could be seen.

Finally, he played the fourth piece of relevant footage. About ten minutes after Toshiko's car left the house, Mitsushi's car returned. After about thirty seconds it re-exited the driveway and took off.

"One witness at the hospital's parking lot confirmed that Saburo-san and Toshiko-san were the only ones in that car, or at least by the time that he arrived," Heizo Hattori said. "Nobody else was present at Toshiko-san's house according to Saburo-san's testimony, and therefore he is the primary suspect in Toshiko-san's death."

"I don't know," Conan/Shinichi said. "The whole thing just seems…off. He killed her and then rushed her body to the hospital? How about the murder weapon?"

"The murder weapon was never found," Ginshiro Toyama said. "We suspect that Saburo-san may have disposed of it before arriving at the hospital."

"How about gunpowder traces?" Shinichi asked. "Were any found in the car?"

"Nope," Ginshiro Toyama said. "None were found inside Toshiko-san's house either."

"So wouldn't that make Saburo-san's testimony a bit more reliable?" Shinichi asked.

"That's why we called you here," Heizo Hattori said. "To get to the bottom of this confusing case. Still, the most likely conclusion is that Saburo-san somehow managed to kill her without leaving any trace of gunpowder. It's much more likely than a car door just magically opening by itself."

"That being said," Ginshiro Toyama said, "It can be confirmed that Toshiko-kun was murdered inside of her vehicle. The blood splatter inside of the car strongly suggests it. However, there were no bullet holes on the car and none of the windows were shattered. That means a person from the outside did not fire inside of the car while the door was closed. The two remaining possibilities, then, are either that Saburo-san shot her inside of the car or that the door opened by itself and somebody from the outside fired inside of the car."

"If the doors opened by themselves, though, then why were they closed when the car appeared on the camera?" Kazuha asked.

"Uh, I hate to interrupt, but can I get back to my TV?" Kawaguchi-san asked.

"Of course, Kawaguchi-san," Heizo Hattori said. "We're sorry for intruding. Thank you for your invaluable cooperation, and we will be leaving now."

 **Scene Transition**

Now Kazuha, Ginshiro Toyama, and Heizo Hattori were standing inside of the deceased Toshiko's home. Saburo and Mitsushi were sitting at the dining room table. Kazuha's laptop was laying on this same table.

"Well, Kudo-kun, have you figured anything out yet?" Ginshiro Toyama asked.

"Sort of," Conan/Shinichi said. "I have an idea as to the culprit's trick, but there are several preconditions that needed to be met for this to work. I need to figure them out, and I also need to confirm that the trick I have in mind was used. Saburo-san, can you please tell me everything that happened to you today, starting from when you woke up?"

"Uh, sure," Saburo said. "When I woke up, Toshiko was in bed beside me, still asleep. So I figured I'd fix breakfast for the two of us, as a nice surprise for her when she woke up. After it was fixed I went back into her bedroom to wake her up. When I woke her up and returned to the dining room, there was Mitsushi."

"You didn't hear him drive up?" Conan/Shinichi asked.

"No, I was wearing headphones," Saburo said. "I like to listen to classical music as I cook."

"I see," Conan/Shinichi said. "What did Mitsushi do?"

"He acted like a real creep!" Saburo said. "He was asking us all these questions about our sex life with this smug look on his face! I mean, the nerve of that guy!"

"Then, Toshiko said she'd call the cops if I didn't leave," Mitsushi said with a smirk on his face. "So I did. Old man Kawaguchi's security camera confirmed that already, right?"

"Did anything else happen?" Conan/Shinichi asked.

"Come to think of it, yeah," Saburo said. "Right before he left he grabbed my car keys from the kitchen table. He ran outside, threw them into the tall grass so that it'd be a pain to find, and then got into his car and drove off."

"Did you immediately search for the car keys?" Conan/Shinichi asked.

"No," Saburo said. "I figured it could wait until later. After he left we started eating breakfast. But about thirty minutes later, I…"

"You suddenly became ill, correct? Heizo Hattori asked.

"Yeah," Saburo said. "Toshiko is something of a hypochondriac, and she figured I needed to go to the hospital right away. My car keys were somewhere in the tall grass so we just took her car."

"Please tell me exactly what you were having for breakfast," Conan/Shinichi said.

"You think I poisoned him, didn't you?" Mitsushi asked. "Didn't the toxicology report come back negative?"

"It's true," Ginshiro Toyama said. "And nothing else found in the house had any traces of poison either."

"Anyhow, please answer the question," Conan/Shinichi said.

"Well, uh, like I said earlier the meal was pancakes," Saburo said. "I also fixed some bacon and hashbrowns."

"What did you have to drink?" Conan/Shinichi asked.

"Uh, milk," Saburo said. "Toshiko had orange juice."

"Hey," Kazuha said. " _Oto-san_ already told you that no trace of poison was found, didn't he?"

"There are some kinds of poisons which only affect some people," Conan/Shinichi said. "They won't be detected by a toxicology test."

"Huh?" Kazuha said.

"Saburo-san, do you have any allergies?" Conan/Shinichi asked.

"Uh, no," Saburo said. "I am lactose intolerant though. Toshiko knows this so she stores lactose-free milk whenever I come over."

"H-hey!" Mitsushi protested. "You're not suggesting that I poured normal milk into his lactose-free milk, are you?"

"That's certainly a possibility," Conan/Shinichi said.

"Come to think of it I didn't get sick until I drank half the glass," Saburo said.

Mitsushi shifted in his seat, nervous. "I-in any case, it was Toshiko who died, right? If I wanted her dead, why would I poison this guy?"

"That remains to be seen, but I think I might know," Conan/Shinichi said. "Kazuha, I'd like to look around a bit more if you don't mind."

Kazuha nodded. "Sure."

 **Scene Transition**

Kazuha stepped outside, holding the laptop in her hand.

"The driveway is really narrow," Conan/Shinichi said. "Saburo's car is parked in the grass; has he had an opportunity to drive it since he arrived at the hospital with Toshiko's body?"

"No," Kazuha said. "His car has been parked in the same place since last night."

I see that the house is on a hill, Conan thought. So that explains that part of the trick. "Kazuha, I need you to check out something for me."

"Sure," Kazuha said. "What is it?"

"Toshiko-san's car," Conan/Shinichi said. "The front left door handle. Can you see if it has any strange residue on it?"

Kazuha nodded. She put the laptop down, checked out the car, and then came back to pick up the laptop.

"Yeah," she said. "It does."

"Can you go feel it?" Shinichi asked.

Kazuha went back to feel the residue and then returned to pick up the laptop.

"It feels kind of sticky," Kazuha said.

This mystery is nearly solved, Conan thought. There was only one more thing left…

Then he noticed it:

A _For Sale_ sign? He thought.

He smiled. _Eureka_! he thought.

"Kazuha, take me back inside, please," he thought.

"Wait, you solved it?" Kazuha asked.

"Yeah," Conan/Shinichi said. "It's time that I shed some light on this case."

 **Scene Transition**

Kazuha laid the laptop on the dining room table.

"Good news," Conan/Shinichi said. "I've solved this case."

"At last!" Heizo Hattori said. "So who did it?"

"The culprit it…you, Mitsushi-san!" Conan/Shinichi declared.

Mitsushi gulped and shifted nervously in his chair once again. "T-that's preposterous!"

"Oh?" Conan/Shinichi said. "If you want, I can reveal exactly what transpired today. Mitsushi, knowing that Saburo would likely be cooking at that time of day and that he had a tendency to cook with his headphones on, drove up onto Toshiko-san's property. You brought with you four tools: a rope, duct tape, regular milk, and a gun. You put tape on both ends of the rope. Then you taped one end of the rope to the wall of Toshiko's garage and you taped the other end to the handle of the front left door of Toshiko-san's car, which was parked in the garage in contrast to Saburo-san's car which was parked in the grass. You most likely put more tape on the side touching the wall so that it wouldn't be the side to come off."

"He taped a rope to the car door handle?" Ginshiro Toyama asked. "Why?"

"I'll get to that," Conan/Shinichi said. "Anyway, after this preparation was complete he went inside and poured regular milk either into Saburo-san's already filled drinking glass or in the opened carton of lactose-free milk which he would be pouring from into his glass. He managed to conceal the container on himself and whenever Toshiko-san and Saburo-san came back from the other room he started stirring up trouble so as to provide a justification for his visit. Finally, he grabbed Saburo-san's car keys, went outside, threw them into the tall grass, and then drove off, knowing that Saburo-san probably wouldn't search for them right away and would instead return inside to eat breakfast with his girlfriend. What happened next isn't difficult to figure out; Saburo-san drank the glass containing regular milk and he got sick. Toshiko-san decided to rush him to the hospital. If he was feeling sick, then it makes sense that she'd want him to lie down in the back instead of sitting in the front where lying down wouldn't be possible. This is what Mitsushi-san wanted, and it was the reason why he poisoned Saburo-san. If he got in the front left seat, he would've discovered the rope attached to the car door handle. Because she was backing out, I'll assume that Toshiko-san looked backwards rather than forwards, so she didn't notice the rope. Toshiko-san was the driver, so it's natural to assume that she'd take her own car. Beyond this, however, Mitsushi-san ensured that Saburo-san's car would not be taken by throwing out his keys. Finding them would take too much time, so Toshiko-san would've taken her own car anyway."

"I've never heard anything so stupid in my life," Mitsushi said, panic in his voice.

"Here's what happened next," Conan/Shinichi continued. "The rope was only of a certain length, so as the car backed up it reached the point of where the rope was stretched beyond its natural length. As this happened, the rope pressed against the handle and opened the car. Furthermore, after the door was opened it pulled the car door open. After this, as the car kept moving backwards and putting further stress on the rope the tape came off and the rope fell to the ground. However, the car was in reverse while going down a hill, so naturally gravity would act upon the doors and cause them to close. Before this happened, however, there was a window of time when the front left door was opened. Mitsushi-san, positioned from the house across the street, shot and killed Toshiko-san. Even though she was now dead, the car was still in reverse so it continued to move until they reached the road. By the time the car came into the camera's sight, gravity had caused the door to close, leaving the impression that only the other person in the car could've killed her. Furthermore, there was a reason that Mitsushi-san could only allow for Toshiko-san's car to be taken: its windows are tinted so much that one cannot see inside of the car, especially not an imperfect security camera. This needed to be done to conceal the fact that Saburo-san was in the back seat and not in the front. Finally, a few minutes later Mitsushi-san returned to the house to retrieve the rope and tape, tying up all the remaining loose ends and making this a perfect crime. Or so he thought."

"Where's the proof?!" Mitsushi roared.

"Mitsushi-san, I've calculated that the most optimal place for you to commit a murder is inside of that for sale house adjacent to this one," Conan/Shinichi said. "If we check inside of there, perhaps we'll find some gunpowder traces? Or perhaps even some hair samples. Or, we can ask around to see if anybody saw your car parked nearby at the time of the crime."

Defeated, Mitsushi fell to his knees.

"It was supposed to be…the perfect crime," he said. "It was brilliant! Oh so brilliant! But then YOU had to come along and ruin it, didn't you?!"

"Mitsushi-san, why did you do it?" Saburo asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mitsushi said. "That stupid b***h had the gall to break up with me! I…I have such gorgeous hair! My beard is the very definition of manly! I work out five times a week and it shows in my abs and my arms! I have a college degree! How could…how could ANY girl reject me?! That's an unforgiveable crime! So I made her pay! Oh yes I did!"

There was a pause.

"Officers, I think you can handle the rest." Conan/Shinichi said. "Kazuha, tell Heiji that he owes me one."

"Will do," Kazuha said, a happy look on her face. "Bye."

And with that Conan ended the videochat.

 **Scene Transition**

Conan turned the laptop off and closed it. He set it down on the coffee table. Then he walked into the kitchen to fix himself something to eat for supper; Subaru-san always kept the kitchen pantry full, and it technically was his house, after all.

What time is it? he suddenly wondered. He picked up his phone from the kitchen table. To his surprise, there were three missed calls from…

Bourbon? Conan thought.

He then called Rei Furuya, AKA Tooru Amuro, AKA Bourbon. After a few seconds Rei picked up.

"Why did you call me?" Conan asked.

"Why didn't you pick up earlier?!" Rei exclaimed. "We're running out of time, so you've got to act fast!"

"Huh?" Conan said.

"It's Gin!" Rei said. "He's on his way to kill Ran!"

"G-gin?" Conan said. "That's impossible! Two weeks ago Gin committed...!"

"I'm not at liberty to explain, but Gin's alive," Rei said. "He's alive, and he's going to kill Ran unless you stop him now! HURRY!"

With that Rei hung up.

Forgetting all about the phone in his hand, Conan dropped it. He rushed out of the house to get back to the Mouri residency as fast as he could with his broken leg and crutches. He only hoped that he wasn't too late.

 **Scene Transition**

"Dinner's ready!"

Ran opened the door to the office on the second floor, only to find her father sitting at his desk fast asleep and probably drunk. She sighed.

I guess I'm going to be the only person eating it tonight, she thought. Oh well, there'll be plenty of leftovers for tomorrow night.

A footstep, then another…they were getting closer…

Huh? Ran thought. Is somebody here?

She stepped outside of the second floor office, and standing face to face with her in the stairway was a man with blond hair and all-black clothes.

"W-who are you?" Ran asked. "Do you have a case for my father? Because right now isn't a good time."

"Ran Mouri," the man said. "Have you made peace with God?"

Is this guy a Christian missionary? she wondered. "Uh, I don't know. I guess."

"That's good to know," the man said. "I'd really hate to send such a pretty girl to hell."

He suddenly pulled out a gun, and…

 **Scene Transition**

Ran! he thought. Ran! This can't be happening! No! Ran!

He saw it up ahead: the Mouri Residency. The entrance to the stairway was just a few yards away whenever…

Is that…?! Conan thought.

A man in black stepped outside. He then ran away, passing by Conan. As he passed by, Conan managed to get a glimpse of his long blond hair.

Gin…! he thought. Ran! No!

He entered the staircase, began his ascent, and…

A few seconds later, his entire world shattered before his eyes.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Ending:**

(Red by BREAKERZ)

I'll never forget the moment when I realized you were gone

Your body was cold as ice in my arms, a beautiful empty shell

A burning tear streaked across my face, I could hardly breathe

They pried me away, scratch marks engraved into your flesh

I'll never forget that moment when they laid you in the ground

Walking away that day was the hardest thing I've ever had to do

I returned to my life a robot, the days coming and going like clouds

I fell into bed, begging for the day to end while dreading tomorrow

I used to think the world was black, white, and a multitude of brilliant colors

But now the only colors in my world are gray and a maddening shade of red

That man's face is burned into the back of my head, haunting my sleepless nights

I know what I have to do tonight, even if I must be no longer the man you loved


	3. Episode 912

_With a thud the bus came to a stop. The door creaked open, and two dozen children descended in an orderly fashion._

 _"_ _Listen *hiccup* up, kids," the nightguard with flushed cheeks and the smell of beer on his breath said in a monotonous voice. "This isn't a playground. This is a national park, and it's *hiccup* big enough for a kid to easily get lost. I'd hate to *hiccup* have to go looking for you, so stay with the *hiccup* group at all times. Above all else, don't wander off the trail. Also, don't try to feed the animals and don't leave your trash on the *hiccup* ground. If you see a wild animal, don't approach it, okay?"_

 _He sighed. How did I get dragged into doing this on a Saturday? he thought. Then he hiccupped again._

 _"_ _Woooow!" Ran shouted, excited. "Nikko National Park! I can't wait to see the sights!"_

 _Shinichi yawned. "Man, why did I have to come here on a Saturday? I should be playing soccer right now. Or finishing up that Detective Samonji novel I started the other day."_

 _"_ _You're always reading those stupid books," Ran said. "Today is a rare chance to explore nature, so be happy about this, will you?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, yeah, whatever," Shinichi said dismissively. "Did you bring any mosquito repellant?"_

 _"_ _No, but Sonoko-chan's got some," Ran said._

 _Shinichi sighed and walked up to Sonoko. "Hey you, give me some mosquito repellant."_

 _Sonoko scoffed in indignation. "No! Bring your own next time, you brat!" Then she stormed off._

 _"_ _You shouldn't have asked like that," Ran said. "That's rude, isn't it?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, whatever," Shinichi said. "Can you go ask her for the bottle for me?"_

 **Scene Transition**

 _"_ _We are now approaching a shrine," the nightguard said. "I don't know its name or anything about it, but the map says there's a shrine. No touching, please. We don't want to get in trouble."_

 _Ran looked around. "Hey, Sonoko-chan, have you seen Shinichi?"_

 _"_ _Uh, no," Sonoko said. "He probably wandered off the trail and got eaten by a bear."_

 _Ran gasped. "I need to go look for him!"_

 _Sonoko chuckled. "Relax. He's probably still in the bathroom."_

 _"_ _But that was thirty minutes ago!" Ran said. "How could…?"_

 _"_ _Hey!"_

 _Shinichi caught up to Ran and Sonoko, an excited look on his face. "Ran, you've got to see this! There's an awesome waterfall deep in the woods!"_

 _Ran's face lit up._

 _"_ _No, Ran!" Sonoko protested. "You can't stray off of the trail!"_

 _"_ _Who cares about what that drunk old geezer says?" Shinichi pleaded. "Come on, Ran, let's go see the waterfall! And then we can brag about it to the others!"_

 _"_ _This will only take a minute," Ran said to Sonoko apologetically. "The waterfall sounds exciting."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _"_ _Shinichi…it's getting dark. I'm scared."_

 _"_ _Just hold on," Shinichi said. "I think I can hear something up ahead."_

 _What was supposed to have taken a minute or two lasted several hours. After searching in vain for the waterfall for about twenty minutes, they decided to turn back but they didn't know the way. They ended up wandering aimlessly about the vast Nikko National Park, which is over 400 square miles in size._

 _This is my fault, Shinichi realised, aching from mosquito bites and itching caused by poison ivy. If she dies here, then that's my fault. The bus, has it left for Tokyo or are they looking for us now? Will we ever be found? What if we starve to death first? Good grief: I got us into a huge mess! What I wouldn't give to be lying in my own bed right now…_

 _"_ _Listen, Ran," Shinichi said, stopping. "All of this is…what I mean to say is that I'm…I'm sorry. I got us into this mess. In case we die here, I just want you to know that."_

 _"_ _Don't talk like that!" Ran shouted. "Don't say that we're going to die! I don't want to die!"_

 _She ran ahead of him, upset._

 _"_ _Hey, Ran! Don't run ahead like that!" Shinichi protested. He ran after her._

 _After about half a minute of running, the reached a clearing and they saw…_

 _"_ _Whoa…!" Ran said. Before her eyes was Kegon Falls, one of Japan's greatest waterfalls._

 _"_ _That's it!" Shinichi said, excited. "That's the waterfall I was telling you about!"_

 _"_ _It's awesome!" Ran said. "I'd hate to fall from that high, would you?"_

 _"_ _Yeah," Shinichi said._

 _They paused for a minute, viewing the waterfall._

 _"_ _Uh, Ran," Shinichi then said. "We're lost and we're both tired. Let's just sleep here for the night. We can find our way back tomorrow morning. Now that we know where the waterfall is, it should be easy because I remember the way now."_

 _Ran nodded. "We can sleep on the ground and use our backpacks are pillows."_

 _"_ _I'll try and build a fire," Shinichi said._

 **Scene Transition**

 _Thirty minutes later, a decent-sized fire was burning. By this time it was totally dark outside._

 _"_ _There," Shinichi said with satisfaction. "We have a fire to keep us warm."_

 _Ran looked at him with an amazed look on her face._

 _So, they put their backpacks on the ground and laid their heads down to rest beside the fire._

 _After trying in vain for about 25 minutes to fall asleep, a restless Shinichi turned over._

 _"_ _Hey Ran, are you still awake?" he asked._

 _She gave no answer; unlike him, she was able to fall asleep with ease._

 _He sighed. Well, she's out like a light._

 _He looked at her sleeping face, which was illuminated by the glowing fire; before he knew it, he was staring. The more he stared, the more he realised:_

 _She's really pretty, he thought. Why have I never noticed this before? Looking at her face and her long hair, it feels so nice. I just want to keep on looking at her forever._

 _Shinichi smiled. He had known Ran for several years prior to this, but this was the first time that he ever looked at her in this way. For him, this was the start of something. He wouldn't ever see Ran quite the same way again. After gazing at Ran for a few more minutes he finally was able to fall asleep beside the warm fire, the majestic crashing waters of Kegon Falls, and the girl who he loved._

 **OPENING:**

( _Ai Wa Te Saguri Kurayami No Naka De_ by ZARD, in the key of A Minor)

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

(As the end draws near the war's fallout results in tougher and tougher cases! To save Ran's life, will I have to join the Men in Black? Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child and the mind of an adult, my name is... _Meitantei Conan!)_

 _Yoake wo highway_

 _Kono omoi to be your slave_

 _Oh tonight and every night you'd be mine_

 _Meutsuri ki ni naru koi no kakehiki_

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa ki magure beat ni dakare_

 _Mitsumete in your eyes_

 _Ai wa maboroshi kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa furuete beat ni dakare_

 _Kono mama in your eyes, oh yeah!_

 **Black Gambit: Part Three!**

Consciousness returned to his body. He opened his eyes and got out of bed. He looked at his phone; the time was 4:25 PM.

I remember that day, he thought with a sad smile. At 11 we were woken by men holding flashlights who had seen our fire and came to rescue us. I woke up in Tokyo at 4 the next morning, and my parents gave me a huge scolding. That was quite an adventure, involving just me and Ran.

But she's…gone now, isn't she? Conan thought, his smile having faded. She's gone and…she's never coming back. She's dead, and Gin killed her. I killed her…

 **Scene Transition**

 **Nine Days Ago**

 _Ran! he thought. Ran! This can't be happening! No! Ran!_

 _He saw it up ahead: the Mouri Residency. The entrance to the stairway was just a few yards away whenever…_

 _Is that…?! Conan thought._

 _A man in black stepped outside. He then ran away, passing by Conan. As he passed by, Conan managed to get a glimpse of his long blond hair._

 _Gin…! he thought. Ran! No!_

 _He entered the staircase, began his ascent, and…_

 _A few seconds later, Ran came within sight._

 _Ran's body, that is._

 _"…_ _Ran?" Conan asked, filled with extreme apprehension._

 _Ran's body was lying face down. She's not necessarily dead, he thought frantically. First of all, I didn't hear a gunshot, though Gin could have used a silencer. Second, isn't it possible that he knocked her out and then fled? After all, it's possible that he had some questions to ask Ran before he planned on killing her. He did have questions for me, after all. But maybe he heard some noise and he knew that he wouldn't be able to flee while carrying Ran. But if that were true…what would she know that could possibly be of value to him?_

 _"_ _Ran?" Conan asked again, slowly approaching the body._

 _There was no answer._

 _"_ _RAN!" Conan shouted. He compulsively grabbed her shoulder and turned her upwards. In her forehead was…_

 _A bullet hole. Her brain had been pierced by a bullet. Ran was dead._

 _Overwhelmed by the sight, Conan fell over backwards. His eyes flooded with tears. This small lake in his eyes began to flood downwards. A lump formed in his throat; strange, infantile sounds that he hadn't uttered in nearly a decade emerged from his vocal chords._

 _It was a child's cry; the shrunken Shinichi Kudo broke down sobbing, completely adverse to any notion of a man's pride. He didn't care about that anymore. He didn't care about anything anymore. Ran was dead; why should he care about anything else? Ran was dead…_

 _"_ _Hey, you!" Kogoro's voice said. "You loud brat, stop disturbing my…!"_

 _Kogoro stopped in his tracks upon seeing Ran's dead body lying on the ground. His mouth was gaping and his face turned deadly pale._

 _"_ _R-Ran…" he murmured, not knowing what to say next._

 _What just…? he thought. Ran is dead?! What? Why? My daughter was fixing dinner one minute and then the next she's…dead? HUH?!_

 _"_ _H-hey, you!" Kogoro said to Conan. "How long has she been like this?!"_

 _"_ _I-I don't know," Conan said. "A-a minute or two, I think."_

 _"_ _Maybe we can…still save her," Kogoro said, exasperated and clinging to this last hope. "I'm calling an ambulance. DON'T touch her."_

 _With that, Kogoro rushed to pick up the landline and dialed 110._

 **Scene Transition**

 _The stretcher was rolled into the emergency room at rapid speed. After a few seconds the "In Surgery" light began glowing._

 _Conan and Kogoro followed after the stretcher until a middle-aged nurse stopped them._

 _"_ _You can't go past this point," she said. "Go sit down in the waiting room, please."_

 _And so they did._

 _"_ _So many hospital visits I such a short span of time," Kogoro said with a nervous chuckle. "Oh well. I'm sure she'll be fine. R-right, brat?"_

 _Conan didn't answer._

 _"_ _Hey!"_

 _Dr. Agasa and Haibara entered the waiting room and they walked up to Kogoro and Conan._

 _"_ _What are you two doing here?" Kogoro asked._

 _"_ _Conan-kun announced Ran's situation on Facebook," Dr. Agasa said. "So how is she now?"_

 _"_ _She just entered the emergency room a minute ago," Kogoro said. "The doctors' prognosis…it isn't good. I know she's going to live though. I know they will save her. I mean…in this past year she's been in so many dangerous situations yet she's pulled through every time. This time is no different. She will survive. She has to…"_

 _Uncle, Conan thought. Why are you in denial? She has been shot in the forehead; that's not something that people live through. Please just stop. Please, I can't take it…_

 _Sonoko burst onto the scene, an extremely concerned look on her face._

 _"_ _RAN!" she shouted. "Uncle, is Ran going to live?"_

 _"_ _Y-yeah," Kogoro said. "I know that she will. My daughter is not going to die. Not like that. Not so young. Not before she…"_

 _"_ _JUST SHUT UP!" Conan interrupted. "Ran-neechan is dead! Wishful thinking is not going to bring her back!"_

 _He stood up and ran outside._

 _He climbed inside of the car, slammed the door shut, and began weeping._

 _After about twenty seconds, however, Haibara opened the door and looked right at him._

 _"…_ _It hurts, doesn't it?" Haibara asked. "Whenever the Organisation takes the single most important person in your life away from you, not even being tortured by them can compare."_

 _"…_ _I didn't mention…anything about those people," Conan said, his voice shaky and broken, not even looking at Haibara._

 _"_ _I could tell," Haibara said. "Who did it? Could it be…Rum?"_

 _"_ _Gin," Conan said, a barely audible whisper._

 _"_ _G-gin?!" Haibara said. She was taken back by this news. "But he's…!"_

 _"_ _I don't…know h-how, but h-he's back," Conan muttered. "He's back. He k-killed Ran. I saw him. I…I saw him. It was Gin. Gin is back."_

 _"_ _Chotto matte!" Haibara exclaimed. "If Gin's back, then your life is…!"_

 _"_ _Please leave me alone," Conan said, again a whisper. "I don't want to talk right now. Not to anyone. I just want to be left alone."_

 _"…_ _If you choose to wait in this car, I'll be the first to inform you of the outcome of the doctors' operation," Haibara said._

 _"_ _There's no need," Conan said. "I already know what you'd say. There's only one possible thing, unless you were to lie."_

 _After a few seconds' pause, Haibara closed the door and headed back inside, leaving Conan to himself in that car._

 **Scene Transition**

 **Six Days Ago**

 _In a side room at a funeral home in Haido, Ran's corpse laid on a table, surrounded by dry ice to keep the body cool. Kogoro, Eri, and Conan stood in the room, dressed in black. Ran was dressed in a white kimono._

 _"_ _How…did things come to this?" Kogoro asked. "It all happened so fast."_

 _"_ _I wasn't even there for her in her final moments," Eri said._

 _"_ _Nobody was," Conan said. "She was dead by the time any of us got to her. Whenever her brain died, she died. Even if the doctors managed to revive the rest of her, what remained wouldn't be Ran." Ironically, the only person who was 'there for her' at her death was her killer._

 _They both looked at Conan._

 _"_ _Uh, boy, listen…" Kogoro said._

 _Conan sighed. "I know, I'm not a member of the family. If you want me to participate simply as an acquaintance of the deceased, I'll understand."_

 _"_ _No," Kogoro said. "Conan, you…you've lived with me and Ran for the past year. During that time you've actually spent more time with Ran than I have. I think you should take part in this as her honourary younger brother."_

 _"_ _But…" Conan began._

 _"_ _He's right," Eri said. "Conan-kun, you'll accept this role, won't you?"_

 _After a few seconds of hesitation Conan nodded._

 _But…if it wasn't for me, wouldn't Ran still be alive? he realised. Whenever my curiosity got the best of me that day at Tropical Land, and I wandered into that back alley, I set off a chain of events that ended with Ran's death. If she knew this, would she even want me attending her funeral? I…am Ran's killer. And my presence in this room is the greatest possible mockery to her memory._

 **Scene Transition**

 _People started entering the funeral home through the front door. A table was set up for people to sign their names in the registry book and deposit envelopes of condolence money. Shiro Suzuki and Sonoko walked in, as did Makoto Kyogoku, Heiji, Kazuha, Dr. Agasa and Haibara, and several other people. They each deposited an envelope filled with money. Finally Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, and Genta entered, though they didn't have any money to give._

 _By this time Ran's body had been placed in a casket in front of the funeral home's altar, which had a traditional Japanese style. A picture of Ran taken four months ago was displayed there as well._

 _People came and individually offered prayers and incense at Ran's altar. Both Rei Furuya and Shuichi Akai (disguised as Subaru Okiya, of course) attended and they both offered incense and prayers to Ran while hardly noticing the other's presence. Megure, Takagi, Sato, Shiratori, Chiba, and Yumi showed up as well, considering that they more or less had seen her at a case at least once a week during the past year._

 _All of the attendants offered Kogoro and Eri their condolences. Despite this, only Heiji, Dr. Agasa, and the Detective Boys knew to offer his condolences to Conan, but Conan wasn't really paying attention to them anyway._

 _After all that was finished, they all headed to a back room to eat some sandwiches which were prepared by Rei._

 _Conan sat at a table in the corner by himself, not having gotten anything to eat or drink. Ayumi and Haibara stood at a distance, looking at him with a sad look on their faces._

 _"_ _I've never seen him like this," Ayumi said._

 _"_ _Of anyone in this room, no, of anybody in this world, Ran's death affected him the most," Haibara said._

 _"_ _Ai-chan…does Conan-kun love Ran-san?" Ayumi asked._

 _"_ _Yes," Haibara said. "He does. Perhaps even more than Ran's own parents do. There's no room in his heart for another girl…and that won't ever change."_

 _"_ _So…I don't have a chance?" Ayumi asked._

 _"_ _No," Haibara said, slightly amused. "The only person who had a chance is dead."_

 _"_ _Will he ever be back to normal?" Ayumi asked._

 _"_ _There's no way of knowing," Haibara said. "People usually cannot remain in his current state indefinitely; they eventually move on. But there is something unique about Kudo-kun…"_

 _He almost sent me to my death to save Ran, Haibara thought. There's no way that he's going to get over this quickly._

 _"_ _Kudo-kun," Ayumi repeated. "Ai-chan, why do you call him that? You seem to do it a lot, so I don't think it's just a slip of the tongue."_

 _"_ _You've met Shinichi Kudo, haven't you?" Haibara said. "Doesn't Conan remind you of him?"_

 _"_ _Well…yeah, I guess," Ayumi said. "They look a lot alike, they're both really good at solving mysteries, and they both love Ran-chan."_

 _"_ _Whenever you hear me referring to Conan by that other name, now you have an explanation," Haibara said._

 _"_ _Ai-chan…do you love Conan-kun?"_

 _Haibara was taken back by this question. "Hey now, why would you ask me something like that?!"_

 _"_ _So you do," Ayumi said._

 _Before Haibara could respond, Ayumi walked away._

 **Scene Transition**

 _The door to the service room was closed. The Buddhist priest bowed before Ran's altar and then lighted incense._

 _"_ _Thus I have heard," the priest began. "Once Buddha was in the land of Shravasti, in the garden of Jeta and Anathapindika. He was accompanied by twelve hundred and fifty great Bhikshus, all of them great Arhats, well known to the assembly…"_

 _With his hand the priest signaled to Kogoro, Eri, and Conan, who were sitting in the front row. Starting with Kogoro and ending with Conan the three of them rose from their seats and walked over to the incense urn. They bowed, offered incense, bowed again, and then returned to their seats. After they were finished, everyone else did the same, beginning with Sonoko, Kazuha, Heiji, Dr. Agasa, and Masumi Sera. After everyone was finished, the Buddhist priest finished reciting the sutra and the wake service ended._

 _Later, after everyone had left, Kogoro, Eri, and Conan stayed awake in the room with the body overnight as was customary. Sonoko convinced them to let her stay too, and she was noticeably tearful for much of the time. It was the longest night of Conan's/Shinichi's life._

 **Scene Transition**

 _The next day, the funeral was held at that same location. Again, the sutra and incense ceremony was performed by a Buddhist priest. After the priest left, Kogoro stood up in front of the altar with a microphone in his hand._

 _"_ _The Mouri family thanks each and every one of you for showing up here today to honour Ran's memory and to celebrate her life," Kogoro said. "And now, the master of ceremonies will stand and read out loud some letters they have composed for Ran in the aftermath of her death."_

 _The obese man wearing an obvious wig stood up and took the microphone from Kogoro. He was holding several letters in his hand._

 _"_ _The first is from Hachiro Kisaki, Ran Mouri's grandfather," the speaker said. "A bedridden resident of Okinawa Prefecture, he could not be here today. This is his letter. It reads as following: Dear Ran, after not having visited you in six years, one day out of the blue I heard about your sudden and tragic demise at the tender age of eighteen. All I can say is that I regret not having been there for you in life as I should have; to experience the company of grandparents, to listen to them tell their life stories is the right of every child but not a privilege enjoyed by all, unfortunately. I hope that wherever you are now, you are in the company of a thousand ancestors, each with a thousand stories to tell you. Sincerely, Hachiro Kisaki, your grandfather."_

 _There was a pause._

 _"_ _The second is from Eri Kisaki, Ran Mouri's mother," the speaker continued. "It reads as following: Dear Ran, I remember the day when I gave birth to you. It was one of the happiest days of my life, and as I held you in my arms I imagined your future: I imagined you graduating from High School, going to college, getting married to some nice young man, and eventually having children of your very own. At that time there were two events that I did not foresee. The first was the falling out with my husband, your father, which resulted in me moving out. That man ended up taking on the burden and responsibility of raising you. Other than phone calls, visits, and trips together to the movies or the spa, I did nothing to contribute towards the task of raising you. I didn't even provide money to my husband to make his burden less financially difficult, though my career as a lawyer has proven much more successful moneywise than his career as a private detective, especially up until this past year. I can only feel as though I failed tremendously as a mother, and I can never apologise to you enough for this. Now that you are dead, you aren't even able to hear this apology, which leads me to the second unforeseen event. Your death at eighteen is not only tragic; it is criminal. Whenever your killer is found, I will collaborate with Reiko-san to see to it that he or she faces the full penalty of the Japanese legal code for the heinous crime of murder. One day, whenever it is my time to leave this Earth, I will be reunited with you and we will be a family once more; I hope to see you soon. Love, your mother."_

 _Oba-san, Conan thought. The man who did this…you will not be able to prosecute him._

 _"_ _The third is from Kogoro Mouri, Ran Mouri's father," the speaker continued. "It reads as following: Dear Ran, while I was holding vigil for you last night, I struggled to finish writing this message. I just wrote what came to my head, so this is an unorganised flow of words on a page. Well, here goes. First, I'm really, really sorry. To call me a lousy father would be a really big understatement. I was pretty much drunk for most of your life for the past ten years or so. It was disgraceful in every sense of the word, and to call your life for the past ten years me raising you would be a mockery to parents everywhere. Now that my thoughts are flowing easy, and because I know that Eri will be listening to this at the funeral tomorrow, I'd like to extend an apology to her, though I know that this is off topic. I know that she feels guilty now for having been largely absent in Ran's life, but what she did was natural in light of my womanising and my near-constant drunkenness. She deserved far better than what I gave her; the reason for my drunkenness is that I am a weak man. Whenever I have the opportunity to drink, it's very hard for me to resist. I cannot say no to alcohol; or at least, not for long. For all these years, my pride has kept me from apologising for a divide which I obviously caused, but as a man with nothing left to lose now I figured, hey, why not? Eri, I am so, so sorry. Right now I have lost my only daughter, and so have you. Despite our separation we are still married, and we need each other now more than ever. Or, at least, I need you. Please come back to me: I would promise to never drink again, but I acknowledge that doing so on my own will not be possible. Please, come back to me and help me through both the passing of Ran and the passing of my alcoholism. With your help, I can be that man who I'm supposed to be. With your help, I can be strong again. At our dinner a few days ago, that's what I was trying to tell you, but I didn't have the guts to get straight to the point before you got up and left in the middle. Ran, please know that I will never, ever forget you. You are totally irreplaceable to me. I have no other children, and even if I did I would always have a special place for you in my heart. If there is anything beyond death, then know that we will meet again one day. In the meantime, as Meitantei Mouri Kogoro, I will track down your killer, whoever he may be and however long it may take. Love, your father."_

 _Blushing profusely, Eri stood up and ran out of the room as fast as her legs could take her._

 _"_ _The fourth letter is from Sonoko Suzuki, a close friend of Ran Mouri," the speaker said. "It reads as following: Dear Ran, I don't know what to say. We've been friends for most of our lives, and I've always taken that for granted. I never thought that you would die so young. I thought that we'd still be talking on the phone to one another in our old age, both of us having lived complete and fulfilling lives and having experienced all that life has to offer. This just goes to show that we never know when our last day on earth has arrived. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, not even to the richest and most successful of people. Every day that we have should be cherished and lived to the fullest, which is something that I never understood until your passing. Thank you, Ran. Thank you not only for teaching me this final lesson but also for the many years that we've spent together as friends. Thank you for the countless hours spent at school, at the mall, on trips, and etcetera. If it wasn't for you, I would still be that spoiled brat who I used to be. You have been my anchor. You helped keep my feet on the ground; you showed me that some things cannot be bought with money and are priceless. You've held me back from pursuing crazy schemes that would only result in my being hurt. Again, thank you for everything, and I will always remember you as my first and best friend. Yours truly, Sonoko Suzuki."_

 _The speaker read the letters of several other people. But finally…_

 _"_ _This last letter is from Shinichi Kudo, a close friend of Ran Mouri," the speaker said. "It reads as following…"_

 _There's no turning back now, Conan thought._

 _"_ _To whom it may concern, my name is Shinichi Kudo. By phone I directed that person currently reading this letter out loud do so last, after all the other letters for Ran have been read. This is not, however, a letter to Ran. To write her a letter would be a total waste of my time and energy; she is dead. What happens when you die, you may ask? Well, the centrepiece of human consciousness is the brain. A person could theoretically survive as a 'brain in a vat' without any of the rest of the body and still live, but once the brain dies a person is dead. Their biological neuroelectrical data which we so naively call their 'soul' is erased from existence. That person is gone forever. He or she doesn't come back in another life; rather, he or she is gone for good. That person no longer exists in any reality. How did I come to this conclusion? Well, the idea of an Elysian afterlife where all is bliss assumes a benevolent creator God. Upon making this assumption, we must question it. Just ask yourselves this: does the idea of a benevolent creator God line up with reality? Is our world fair? Because I, for one, can testify that it is not. I have seen the most evil of men escape what I thought would be sure justice and live to commit more evil deeds. Likewise, I have seen the most noble of humanity gunned down in cold blood before they've had a chance to enjoy life. Ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about the matter of Ran's death. The truth is, Ran's death was no accident. And it wasn't a robbery/burglary gone wrong either, in spite of whatever rumours may be circulating right now. I have been in hiding for the past year because I know the truth, because I had a fatal encounter with the people now responsible for Ran's death. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time that you learned the truth. Around one year ago, I accompanied Ran to a local amusement park known as Tropical Land. Most of you have probably been there at some point or another. While there, I witnessed two men in black heading for an empty back alley. Suspicious, I left Ran behind and followed those men. I witnessed them engaging in an illegal financial transaction with a third party. However, I was quickly exposed to them. As I was a witness to their crime, they decided to kill me. They tried to do so, but I managed to escape with my life. Since that day, I have been in hiding. I have kept a low profile out of the fear that if those men knew that I was still alive, they would not only kill me but also those who I care about. Now that Ran is dead, however, I no longer care about that. So, I'm going to tell you who these men are. They are called the Kuro no Soshiki_ (Black Organisation) _. They are a crime syndicate of an unknown nature, and their existence is a secret to the general public. Until now, that is. Their operatives dress in black and they answer to an unknown leader who they simply call The Boss. Each operative is given a codename based on an alcoholic beverage. The person who killed Ran is named Dylan Cliffberg, but his codename within the organisation is Gin. Gin is a Caucasian male with long blond hair, and Conan-kun reported seeing a man by that description flee the crime scene on the night that Ran died. As these men murdered Ran, there is a chance that they're monitoring her funeral now. If so, then I have a message for them: I will hunt you down and I will kill you, you sick sons of b****es. I will not grant you the opportunity to turn yourselves in to the proper authorities and live. I will show you no mercy. I will show you no compassion. You will not be able to appease my wrath with money. Either you find and kill me, or I will find and kill you, because in murdering the girl who I love more than anyone else in this world, you have pushed me past my breaking point. With utmost sincerity, Shinichi Kudo."_

 _Conan looked around; most of the people present had an incredulous look on their face. Shinichi's confession appeared to be too far-fetched for them to believe._

 **Scene Transition**

 _After a final viewing of Ran's body, the casket was sealed shut and the pallbearers carried the casket to the ornately designed hearse that was waiting outside._

 _The hearse drove the casket to a crematorium, where the body was to be cremated. Kogoro, Eri, and Conan followed closely behind. The hearse stopped briefly for gas midway, but then it continued and completed the trip._

 _After the hearse and the family arrived at the crematorium, the casket was carried inside. As yet another Buddhist monk chanted, the casket was slid into the incinerator. Then Kogoro, Eri, and Conan headed to a waiting room, as the cremation was expected to take a while. While there they tried to enjoy some bento lunch, but none of them were in the mood for eating…or speaking, for that matter. Given the contents of Kogoro's letter which was read out loud, neither Kogoro nor Eri would look the other in the eye._

 _After about an hour and thirty minutes, they heard over the loudspeaker that Ran's body had finished being cremated. They re-entered the incinerator room, where what was left of Ran's body was slid out. At this point it was time for the kotsuage_ (bone-picking ceremony) _; Kogoro, Eri, and Conan grabbed oversized chopsticks and began picking up Ran's bones with those chopsticks. They put Ran's bones inside of an urn, starting with the feet bones and ending with the skull. Once they finished, the urn was sealed with a lid and wrapped in a white cloth._

 _The urn was taken back to the cemetery. Then Kogoro, Eri, and Conan drove to the Mouri Residency, where Eri would stay for the time being. At this point Ran's funeral was complete._

 **Scene Transition**

 **Present**

It was 4:25 PM. Conan walked into the kitchen to fix himself something to eat, despite being not hungry. He knew that he would need to eat; he had a long night ahead of him.

Tonight is it, he thought. After tonight I'm either going to be dead…or a murderer. Or both.

Kogoro and Eri were sitting at the table looking at a picture album.

Conan opened the fridge and took out some leftovers prepared for the Mouris by Asami Tsuburaya, who had attended Teitan High School with Ran and Shinichi.

He microwaved it, ate about half of it, and threw the rest away.

"I'm going to the Professor's house," he called.

"Okay," Kogoro said without looking up from the picture album.

 **Scene Transition**

At the Kudo Residence, Conan took a shower.

If there's a high chance that I might die then I might as well die clean, he thought.

After his shower was finished, he headed down into the basement. He retrieved a handgun and ammunition from the inconspicuous-looking package on the shelf and then he headed back upstairs. Subaru/Shuichi was reading a book.

"So, Kudo-kun, this is it, huh?" Subaru asked.

"Yeah," Conan said. "Today's the big day. Subaru-san, why do you have three freezers in your basement? I don't remember the basement having so many."

Subaru put his finger to his lips. " _A secret makes a man man_ ", he said jokingly.

"But seriously," Conan said. "Why?"

"That, I suspect, is something that you'll find out soon enough," Subaru said.

Conan sighed. "Fine. Before I go, I just feel the need to say…thank you for everything. You've been a tremendous help to me, and I'd probably be dead by now if it weren't for you."

"Likewise," Subaru said. "My only regret is that I can't come with you now. As an FBI Agent, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America."

"And…so?" Conan asked, confused.

"According to the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, no citizen may be deprived of the right to life, liberty, or property without due process of law," Subaru said. "Gin is technically a US citizen, so under my country's legal system which I swore an oath to support and defend he has a right to due process of law if he has committed any crime, even murder. Bottom line, I cannot partake in this extrajudicial killing. Providing you with that gun is the most that I'm willing to do. If you end up getting arrested please don't tell anyone where you got that, by the way."

Conan nodded. "I understand. Well…this is it. It was a pleasure knowing you."

He extended his hand and Subaru shook it.

Then, Subaru took a Cross Pendant out of his pocket and handed it to Conan. All four sides of the cross were of equal length.

"What's this?" Conan asked.

"On that eventful meeting at Raiha Pass, Kir managed to give this to me without this being detected by any of the cameras on her body," Subaru said. "At a later point I managed to ask her what it meant, and she told me that whenever her father Ethan Hondou sacrificed himself for her he handed her the cross in his last moments, telling her that it is a survivor's cross. Tonight you'll be needing it a lot more than I do, so wear it…and return it to me the first chance you get, okay?"

 **Scene Transition**

Conan stepped inside Dr. Agasa's house. Dr. Agasa and Haibara were waiting.

"Tonight's the night," Conan said. "Haibara, do you have the pill ready?"

Haibara nodded and handed it to him. He put it in his mouth and swallowed.

"Your clothes are hanging on the shower curtain rod," Dr. Agasa said as Conan rushed towards the bathroom.

 **Scene Transition**

After about ten minutes Shinichi emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed.

"You're being reckless," Haibara noted. "Two pills in such a short span of time?"

"I took three for the trip to London, remember?" Shinichi said. "And I took two for the time before that. That time with the case involving that imposter version of me. In any case, if Gin shows up this will be the last time that I ever take these pills."

"When's your mother going to get here?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"Around 6," Shinichi said.

"Then you came here an hour early," Dr. Agasa said. "If your life as you know it is almost over, then isn't there anything you want to do while you still can?"

"Not really," Shinichi said. "There's only one thing that I care about. And I'm going to do it tonight."

"Have you put any thought into it?" Dr. Agasa asked. "There's got to be something."

"I said there's nothing!" Shinichi snapped.

Dr. Agasa and Haibara were taken back by this sudden outburst.

"I just…want to get this over with," Shinichi said. "I don't know how much longer I can wait."

"Are you absolutely sure that you want to do this?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Shinichi said. "Professor, can you give me and Haibara some privacy? There's something that I need to tell her."

The professor shrugged. "Sure. I'll go out and buy some carrots for tonight's stew."

After grabbing his wallet, his phone, and his car keys he left the house.

What does he want to tell me? Haibara wondered. If he believes that he's about to either die or go to prison, this is probably pretty important…perhaps even something that he would never otherwise tell me.

Shinichi sighed. "Do you have another antidote pill on hand?"

"Uh, yeah, I have one spare," Haibara said. "Why?"

"I'd…like for you to take it now, if you please," Shinichi said.

"Hey, surely you aren't asking me to…!" Haibara began.

"I'm not asking anything like that," Shinichi said. "I won't be satisfied if anyone other than myself pulls the trigger on that b****rd. And I don't want you to put your life in danger for the sake of my own vendetta."

"Then why?" Haibara asked.

"Shiho…" Shinichi said with a sad smile on his face. "I would tell you that I feel nothing for you…but you already know that. My heart belongs only to Ran, and no one else."

"I-I know…" Haibara said, blushing.

"But…there is a disconnect between my heart and my body," Shinichi continued. "Ever since I shrunk, you've done so much for me. As the only other person on this planet to have survived and been shrunken by APTX-4869, only you can truly understand what I've been going through for this past year. You've been at my side almost every step of the way. So…I would like to repay you. On that day when you were locked in that room, you made it abundantly clear what you feel for me, what you want. I can't give you my heart, but I can give you my body. So if you want to do that certain thing this one time while we have the chance…"

" _Baka_!" Haibara interrupted, her face bright red and tears rolling down her face. She would've slapped him had tall Shinichi been short Conan at the time. " _Baka! Baka!_ You think you know what I want? Do you really think so little of me…?! Do you really think that I'd want to do that, knowing that you'd be thinking of another girl the entire time?! Do you really think that I'd take any pleasure in something like that, with you feeling nothing? If there's no meaning behind it, if for you it's a totally shallow act towards some girl you hardly care about, then...! If you want to repay me, then come back alive!"

Unable to contain herself any longer she ran out of the room, leaving Shinichi to himself.

 **Scene Transition**

After waiting for almost an hour, Shinichi heard the sound of knocking at the door. He opened it and Yukiko stepped inside.

"Hi mom," Shinichi said.

"Hi," Yukiko said sadly. "Come on, let's go apply your disguise."

 **Scene Transition**

 _"_ _With utmost sincerity, Shinichi Kudo."_

 _Conan looked around; most of the people present had an incredulous look on their face. Shinichi's confession appeared to be too far-fetched for them to believe._

 _Except for his parents. Yukiko and Yusaku gave him a strange look. Noticing this, Conan got up and headed for the empty hallway. His parents followed him._

 _"_ _What was that?!" his mother exploded as soon as they were in the hallway._

 _"_ _Shinichi, you can't do this!" Yusaku said. "You're not allowed to play by the same rules as those men! You can't take human life!"_

 _"_ _I don't care," Conan said, a tired look on his face. "Good, bad, right, wrong…I don't care anymore. All I know is that Gin killed Ran. That's all I care about."_

 _"_ _Then think about this!" Yukiko said. "You'll go to prison! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"_

 _"_ _I don't care about that either," Conan said. "As long as Gin gets what he deserves, who cares what happens to me?"_

 _"_ _We're not going to let you do something like that!" Yusaku said. "If you insist on trying, we're going to have to stop you."_

 _"_ _How?" Conan asked. "Are you going to lock me away for the rest of my life? Because that's what it'd take to keep me from obtaining justice for Ran."_

 _There was a pause._

 _"_ _Mom, I'm going to need your help," Conan said. "When the time comes, I'm going to need a disguise."_

 _"_ _Why would I help you do something like that?!" Yukiko demanded._

 _"_ _I'm going to try with or without your help," Conan said. "But without you, the chances of failure are increased. If I fail, I die. If you want to help me live, you will do my disguise. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."_

 **Scene Transition**

"…There," Yukiko said. "It's done."

Shinichi looked at himself in the mirror.

"I look just like her," he remarked.

Indeed, Shinichi now looked almost exactly like 19 year old Shiho Miyano. Enough like her to fool Gin even when standing face to face with him. He was wearing clothes typical of a 19 year old girl, with a purple shirt and blue jeans. One of the most notable differences between him and the actual Sherry was that he was three centimeter taller, but Gin probably wouldn't catch on to such a small detail.

He stood up. "This should do nicely. Thanks, mom."

Yukiko said nothing.

Without another word, he entered the kitchen.

" _Hakase_ ," Shinichi/Shiho said. "Is it ready?"

"Y-yeah," Dr. Agasa said. "It's in the garage."

"Thanks," Shinichi/Shiho said.

"W-wait," Dr. Agasa said. "You're going now? Just like that?"

"Yeah," Shinichi/Shiho said. "All preparation are complete; it's time to go. One last thing: is it fully charged?"

"Yeah," Dr. Agasa said. "It should last you about an hour."

Shinichi/Shiho nodded. "Farewell, professor."

"W-what about the power brace?" Dr. Agasa asked. "Have you put it on?"

"I don't need it anymore," Shinichi/Shiho said.

With that Shinichi/Shiho headed for the garage, grabbed the adult-sized Turbo Engine Skateboard, went outside, turned it on, and rode away to his big showdown with Gin.

 **Scene Transition**

After searching around for about 5 minutes, he located Akemi Miyano's grave. He looked at his watch; the current time was 6:59 PM.

He fell on his knees before the grave, as Gin would expect Shiho to do. Coming over he had not seen any black Porsche 356As. Then again, he knew that Gin would be more subtle than that.

Yesterday, he had anonymously arranged for an ad to be put in the paper. The ad would appear in today's issue. Well, ad wasn't really the proper term. Rather, it was a short article in remembrance of Akemi Miyano, whose birthday would've been today had she still been alive. The author of the article explicitly referred to Akemi as "big sister", and if Gin saw the article he would certainly conclude that Shiho Miyano was still alive. Given that Gin knew the date of Akemi's birthday, and that he was suspicious about the circumstances surrounding Shiho's alleged death, he might be on the lookout for an article like this or something similar. At this point, Gin would also conclude that if Shiho were still alive and willing to take the risk of commemorating Akemi's birthday with a newspaper article she would surely visit Akemi's grave on this day to commemorate her sister's birthday. Thus, Gin would be waiting at this grave site for Shiho to appear, and he would most likely wait in an inconspicuous vehicle. If Shiho didn't appear during the day while Gin was waiting, then he would most likely conclude that Shiho had either come early in the day or was waiting until the dark of night. Given his extreme determination to hunt down Sherry, Gin would most likely stake out until night time just in case the latter was true. And whenever Gin found Shiho, he probably wouldn't immediately go for the kill. If he was the only Black Organisation member who knew about Sherry still being alive, then he was under no pressure to take the most effective but boring approach of sniping her from a distance. Rather, he would try to kill her up close and intimately, especially since this late there would be no one else present to witness or interfere with the crime. That is, Gin would try to have fun killing Sherry. She constituted one of those rare points where Gin separated himself from his usual professionalism.

It was also possible, of course, that Shinichi was overthinking this. Perhaps Gin wouldn't act in such a predictable manner, and that Shinichi/Shiho would end up waiting all night to no avail. Perhaps Gin or any of the other Black Organisation members hadn't even noticed the article. Or, he might suddenly be shot in the back of the head at any random moment. In this graveyard he was utterly exposed, and he could die at any minute.

To die in a grave yard, he thought. That would be the ultimate irony, wouldn't it?

 **Scene Transition**

Sherry…he thought. I've found you! At last! My beloved Sherry, I will kill you now. I will show you how much I love you and then I will kill you.

He stepped out of the red Peugeot 508 with the illegally tinted windows. He took the safety off his handgun and cocked it so that it was ready to fire. A silencer was attached to the end.

He took one step, and then another. He crept up slowly, not wanting to alert Sherry that he was approaching.

What he didn't take into account was Shinichi/Shiho's ability to smell a member of the Black Organisation.

Without turning his head, Shinichi/Shiho shifted his eyes to the left and then the right. He saw Gin, walking very carefully and quietly. He pretended not to notice, though his heart was now beating furiously like a war drum.

Just ten more seconds, he though.

His breathing was shaky as he waited for Gin to get closer.

That he hasn't shot me yet is an encouraging sign, he thought, trying to calm himself down.

Gin got closer…

Finally, Shinichi/Shiho stood up, pushed the button on his belt, and out came a soccer ball. He kicked it in Gin's face and ran away. Gin, caught totally off guard by that, was stunned for a few seconds by the blow though he was not knocked over.

Running as fast as he could and panting hard, Shinichi/Shiho vaulted over the short fence and got onto his turbo engine skateboard. He then dashed off at 35 MPH.

Gin ran to his car. He looked at it.

No, this won't do, he thought. Good thing I brought that backup.

He opened the door to his car's trunk and took out a Winchester model 1887 lever-action shotgun. He grabbed it and closed the trunk door. He took a pair of Persol Ratti 58230 vintage sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on. Meanwhile, he was wearing a Bates Custom Leathers motorcycle jacket from the 80s/90s.

Behind his car was a motorcycle. More specifically, a Harley-Davidson 1990 FLSTFB "Fat Boy". He got on, turned the key in the ignition, and drove off after Sherry, holding the shotgun in his left hand.

That's it, Shinichi/Shiho thought. Walk right into my trap, Gin. You killed Ran, you took everything from me…and now you're going to pay the price. DIE, GIN!

 **To Be Continued**

 **Ending** :

(Red by BREAKERZ)

I'll never forget the moment when I realized you were gone

Your body was cold as ice in my arms, a beautiful empty shell

A burning tear streaked across my face, I could hardly breathe

They pried me away, scratch marks engraved into your flesh

I'll never forget that moment when they laid you in the ground

Walking away that day was the hardest thing I've ever had to do

I returned to my life a robot, the days coming and going like clouds

I fell into bed, begging for the day to end while dreading tomorrow

I used to think the world was black, white, and a multitude of brilliant colors

But now the only colors in my world are gray and a maddening shade of red

That man's face is burned into the back of my head, haunting my sleepless nights

I know what I have to do tonight, even if I must be no longer the man you loved

Next time on Detective Conan:

The fatal showdown between Shinichi/Shiho and Gin. The truth behind the Black Organisation will finally be revealed. But there cannot be a shadow without light; the US Government and the Black Organisation might not be the only major players. Elena Miyano explains (almost) everything.

 **Next Conan's Hint** : Antichrist


	4. Episode 913

Sherry…he thought. My beloved Sherry, I will kill you now. I will show you how much I love you and then I will kill you.

He stepped out of the red Peugeot 508 with the illegally tinted windows. He took the safety off his handgun and cocked it so that it was ready to fire. A silencer was attached to the end.

He took one step, and then another. He crept up slowly, not wanting to alert Sherry that he was approaching.

What he didn't take into account was Shinichi/Shiho's ability to smell a member of the Black Organisation.

Without turning his head, Shinichi/Shiho shifted his eyes to the left and then the right. He saw Gin, walking very carefully and quietly. He pretended not to notice, though his heart was now beating furiously like a war drum.

Just ten more seconds, he thought.

His breathing was shaky as he waited for Gin to get closer.

That he hasn't shot me yet is an encouraging sign, he thought, trying to calm himself down.

Gin got closer…

Finally, Shinichi/Shiho stood up, pushed the button on his belt, and out came a soccer ball. He kicked it in Gin's face and ran away. Gin, caught totally off guard by that, was stunned for a few seconds by the blow though he was not knocked over.

Running as fast as he could and panting hard, Shinichi/Shiho vaulted over the short fence and got onto his turbo engine skateboard. He then dashed off at 35 MPH.

Gin ran to his car. He looked at it.

No, this won't do, he thought. Good thing I brought that backup.

He opened the door to his car's trunk and took out a Winchester model 1887 lever-action shotgun. He grabbed it and closed the trunk door. He took a pair of Persol Ratti 58230 vintage sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on. Meanwhile, he was wearing a Bates Custom Leathers motorcycle jacket from the 1980s/1990s.

Behind his car was a motorcycle. More specifically, a Harley-Davidson 1990 FLSTFB "Fat Boy". He got on, turned the key in the ignition, and drove off after Sherry, holding the shotgun in his left hand.

That's it, Shinichi/Shiho thought. Walk right into my trap, Gin. You killed Ran, you took everything from me…and now you're going to pay the price. DIE GIN!

 **OPENING:**

( _Ai Wa Te Saguri Kurayami No Naka De_ by ZARD, in the key of A Minor)

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

(As the end draws near the war's fallout results in tougher and tougher cases! To save Ran's life, will I have to join the Men in Black? Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child and the mind of an adult, my name is... _Meitantei Conan!)_

 _Yoake wo highway_

 _Kono omoi to be your slave_

 _Oh tonight and every night you'd be mine_

 _Meutsuri ki ni naru koi no kakehiki_

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa ki magure beat ni dakare_

 _Mitsumete in your eyes_

 _Ai wa maboroshi kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa furuete beat ni dakare_

 _Kono mama in your eyes, oh yeah!_

 **Black Gambit: Part Four!**

"Huh?" Ryan Jackson said.

"Kudo-kun is on the move," Elena said. "Shuichi Akai alerted me to his plan, and also where he's headed. I'll give you the address now…"

Over the phone she gave him the address.

"Get there as fast as you can and keep tabs on the situation," Elena said. "And be wary: if Rei-kun is right, there will be a large number of other Organisation members in that area."

"Will do," Ryan Jackson said. "Thank you very much."

Then he ended the call.

"Did you get that?" Ryan Jackson asked.

"…Yeah," Yoshiteru Nichimura said. "Let's go."

Yoshiteru turned the key in the ignition and they drove off.

 **Scene Transition**

Shinichi/Shiho turned his head for a second. Sure enough, Gin was about 200 feet behind him and getting closer.

That certain place was still a considerable distance away, so he needed to buy some space between him and Gin.

He pulled out his gun, aimed, and fired a single shot. He was a bad shot and it missed Gin by as much as a few feet, but it was enough to make Gin slow down.

After another two minutes passed the traffic around Shinichi and Gin grew thicker. Shinichi rode onto the shoulder of the road. Gin followed him. Because of the traffic Shinichi was wary of firing another shot at this point.

They quickly reached a more populous part of Tokyo, filled with busy streets and intersections.

Shinichi/Shiho was nearing a traffic light, and it had just turned red. At the same time, he knew that if he stopped he would be as good as dead.

So, taking a huge risk, he ran the red light and kept going. Gin did the same, not willing to let Sherry get away. Incoming cars braked to keep from hitting either person.

Shinichi/Shiho turned into one street and then another, yet he couldn't shake Gin.

Crap, he thought. But then, looking ahead he had an idea.

He drove onto an overpass. Underneath a train was moving from left to right. He jumped onto the guard rail and then onto the top of the train. After landing on the train he braked, but he slid several yards before coming to a full stop. In fact, he skidded enough distance that he jumped and landed on the adjacent train car. To his shock, Gin was somehow able to follow him to the top of the train, but he was on top of a different train car to the back of the one Shinichi/Shiho was on.

A few seconds later, after the train was passing by a curving road Shinichi/Shiho flew off of the train and onto that road. Gin did the same. Then the pursuit continued.

Two minutes later that road merged with the one that Shinichi/Shiho and Gin would've been on had they not jumped onto the train.

There was a tunnel up ahead. Accelerating to his maximum speed, Shinichi/Shiho entered the tunnel. Traffic was heavy, which was what Shinichi/Shiho was counting on.

At that moment, Shinichi/Shiho began an ascent up the walls of the tunnel and made a full loop, going up the left side and coming down the right side several hundred feet ahead. He was still going pretty fast, so he did it a second time…and then a third time. Finally, Shinichi cleared the tunnel.

You're not shaking me, Gin thought. His speed was pretty high too, so he did the exact same thing that Sherry did, riding up the left wall of the tunnel on his motorcycle and going across the ceiling until he came down on the right side. He did this two times and then emerged from the tunnel, only several hundred feet from Sherry.

He's really good, Shinichi/Shiho thought, turning around to see that Gin was still following close behind him.

Luckily, he had reached his destination. He made a sharp turn into the parking lot of the abandoned hotel. He got off the turbo engine skateboard and rushed towards the entrance. At that time Gin also arrived in the parking lot.

So this is Sherry's hideout, Gin thought.

"Stop running, b***h!" Gin said angrily. He pointed his shotgun at Shinichi/Shiho and fired. Shinichi's right shoulder was hit. Shinichi/Shiho winced in pain and just barely held back the urge to scream. He kept running.

The front door was made of glass, and part of it had been broken earlier to form a hole, one big enough for Shinichi/Shiho to fit through. Unfortunately, the gun wound in his right shoulder meant that he was leaving a trail of blood as he walked.

A few seconds later Gin entered the hotel through this same hole in the glass door.

 **Scene Transition**

Throughout the hotel, the radio was playing _Over the Rainbow_ by Judy Garland.

 _Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high_

 _There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby_

Shinichi/Shiho ran past the front desk in the lobby. He ran past the breakfast suite. He entered the stair room and headed for the top floor.

Before he even reached the 3rd floor he heard the sound of the door on the 1st floor opening. Gin was coming after him. So, when he got to the 3rd floor he opened the door quite loudly. Then he took his shoes off, covered his wound to prevent bleeding to the best of his ability, and quickly tiptoed to the fourth floor. Fortunately, the song playing on the radio masked the sound of his movements somewhat, and Gin was moving up the stairs somewhat slowly.

Once Gin reached the 3rd floor he took the bait and opened the floor, stepping into the hallway on the 3rd floor. As soon as the door closed behind the blond psychopath, Shinichi/Shiho headed back down to the lobby in order to make his preparations. He figured that Gin would search every room on the 3rd floor.

 _Someday I'll wish upon a star_

 _And wake up where the clouds are far behind me_

After stepping into the lobby, Shinichi/Shiho sighed and leaned against the wall, clutching his wound.

I can't rest now, he thought. Gin's going to search the 3rd floor. After that point, I don't know whether he's going to head back down or search other floors. In fact, he might be on his way down right now. I have no way of knowing how much time I've got, so I need to act fast. Where did I put that thing…?

 **Scene Transition**

The third vehicle pulled up into the parking lot. A motorcycle. Masumi Sera turned the key and she and Eisuke Hondou got off.

"That's Kudo's skateboard," Masumi said.

"That looks a bit too big for him though," Eisuke said.

" _Daijobu_ , it's him," Masumi said.

"But who does that other motorcycle belong to?"

Masumi shrugged. "Dunno…" Then she gasped, having seen a trail of blood on the ground.

"Is that his?!" Eisuke exclaimed.

Without saying another word both of them rushed towards the makeshift entrance.

 **Scene Transition**

They stepped inside, only to see a strange woman in a purple shirt struggling to carry a plastic gasoline container.

"Who are you?" Eisuke asked.

Shinichi/Shiho, realising that he had company, raised his fingers to his lips so as to indicate "Be quiet!"

"Who are you?" Masumi whispered.

Shinichi/Shiho put the container down.

"It's me, Shinichi Kudo," Shinichi/Shiho whispered in reply. "Gin is on an upper floor. Get far away from here now."

"You're not Shinichi," Eisuke whispered.

"I'm in disguise," Shinichi/Shiho whispered. "I did it to lure Gin out, because Gin really wants to see this woman dead."

He winced in pain and grasped his wounded shoulder.

"You're hurt," Masumi whispered.

"It's nothing," Shinichi/Shiho whispered. "Now go. I don't want you seeing what's about to happen."

"What's about to happen?" Eisuke whispered.

"He's going to set Gin on fire," Masumi whispered. "Am I right?"

Shinichi/Shiho was silent.

"Th-that's absurd!" Eisuke whispered. "Shinichi, you wouldn't do something like that, would you?"

"If he wasn't Ran's killer then I wouldn't even think of doing this," Shinichi/Shiho whispered. "I'm not going to reconsider, so please just go."

"W-wait," Eisuke said. "T-that man upstairs is Ran's…killer?"

Eisuke and Masumi looked at each other intently, and then they grabbed the gasoline container and struggled to lift it.

"This is really heavy," Eisuke whispered.

"What are you doing?!" Shinichi/Shiho whispered.

"What do you think?" Masumi whispered. "You can't do this by yourself; not with a wounded shoulder, anyway. Where do you need this to go, and what's the plan?"

"Y-you'd be helping me kill a guy!" Shinichi whispered.

"We're preventing this monster from ever killing anyone else," Masumi whispered. "And I cared about Ran too, you know. So does Eisuke here."

Shinichi/Shiho smiled. "Thank you. Now, the first thing we need to do is…"

 **Scene Transition**

He entered the number and clicked "Send". After about ten seconds the person on the other side answered.

"Yes?"

"Ah, Taiko Meijin-san," Subaru said. "My name is Subaru Okiya, if you recall."

"Ah, Subaru, yeah, I remember you," Shukichi Haneda said. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, if you don't live too far away, I was wondering if you could come here and enjoy some fresh-cooked curry," Subaru said. "I'm afraid I fixed too much of it, and I'm going to be gone for the next few weeks starting the day after tomorrow so simply putting it in the ice box isn't much of an option."

"I see," Shukichi said. "Are you a good cook?"

"The professor says that it's some of the best curry he's ever eaten," Subaru said. "After you try it you are free to make up your own mind."

"In that case sure," Shukichi said. "Just tell me where you live."

"Beika City, Beika Town, District 2, Block 21," Subaru said. "It should be the house that looks like it's haunted, right next to that gigantic house that looks like a research institute."

"All right then," Shukichi said, chuckling at that description. "That street is only about ten minutes away so I'll be there shortly."

Then he hung up.

Meanwhile, from the basement of Dr. Agasa's home, Haibara was listening in through a headseat…

 **Scene Transition**

"…There, it's all set," Eisuke said. "He should be here any…"

From the elevator room there was a loud dinging noise. The elevator door opened and Gin stepped onto the lobby floor. Masumi and Eisuke rushed to hide. Shinichi/Shiho stood in place.

Gin stepped into view and looked right at Sherry. They stared at each other for a good half minute.

"Gin," Shinichi/Shiho said, holding the voice-changing bowtie to his mouth.

What's with the bowtie? Gin thought. Eh, whatever. "Sherry, it's been too long. It was such a joy to learn that you're still alive. Now I get the pleasure of killing you myself."

"Certainly," Shinichi/Shiho said, taking a step back. "But first, I have a question for you."

A…question? Gin thought. "Sure. Whatever it is, it's not like you're going to live to tell the tale."

He pointed his shotgun at Sherry and took a step forward. "Ask."

"Ran Mouri," Shinichi/Shiho said, taking a step back. "Why did you kill her?"

"Ran Mouri," Gin repeated, taking a step forward. "Oh, you mean that girl? Sleeping Kogoro's daughter?"

"Yeah," Shinichi/Shiho said, taking a step back. "Explain yourself."

"Why do you care?" Gin asked, taking a step forward.

"Just answer the *expletive* question!" Shinichi/Shiho barked.

Gin sighed. "In truth, I was going to kill her because that's what the boss ordered me to do. But before I could get to her she was killed by somebody else."

H-huh…Shinichi/Shiho thought. HUH?! WHAT?! "Y-you're lying! A man who looks just like you was seen at the crime scene!"

"Was this man's face seen?" Gin asked.

"He had long blond hair just like yours and he was wearing all black!" Shinichi/Shiho said. "Who else could it have been?!"

Gin smirked. "So who is this girl to you, huh? Don't tell me she's been aiding you this whole time spent on the run. I knew you were weak, but that's a bit too much."

Gin took another step forward, and then another.

Just a little bit more, Shinichi/Shiho thought, taking a step back behind the archway. "If you didn't kill her, then who did?"

"Who knows?" Gin said, taking a step forward. "It was probably some cowardly burglar who panicked when he saw a teenage girl. Does that really matter, though? The night she died I was out drinking in Shibuya."

T-then…Shinichi/Shiho thought.

Gin smirked again. "Honestly, Sherry, I'm disappointed. I would've thought that in your last moments you'd be concerned about more important stuff than that. Any last words?

He took two more steps forward.

"NOW!" Shinichi/Shiho shouted, diving to the floor.

Eisuke and Masumi let go of the string, and the gasoline poured onto Gin, drenching his entire body. Shinichi/Shiho then stood up, took a match out of his pocket, and lit it.

Realising that Sherry was about to set him on fire, Gin screamed and dropped his gun. He turned around and began to run. And Shinichi/Shiho didn't follow after him.

I-I can't…Shinichi/Shiho thought. I can't kill a person.

He sighed and blew out the match.

Gin's going to report Sherry's continued to existence to those men, Shinichi/Shiho realised. Before that happens I have to show him that I'm Shinichi, in order to keep Haibara safe!

He ran after Gin. "Hey, Gin! Wait!"

Gin paid no heed to Shinichi/Shiho. He got onto his bike, touched the key, and…!

There was an explosion. Gin burst into flame, the static electricity discharged upon touching the key igniting the gasoline on his body. He screamed, got off of his bike, and writhed in pain helplessly on the ground. He crawled about on the ground and continued screaming. Shinichi knew that there was nothing he could do for Gin now. In his last few moments, Gin pointed a flare gun to the air and sent up a black smoke flare that would be visible from at least half a mile away. If there were any other Organisation members in the area, they would be aware that one of their own had just died.

Within a minute Gin was dead, a smoldering carcass.

 **Scene Transition**

From the chic café at the top of the skyscraper Chianti nearly dropped her sandwich when she saw the black smoke. That smoke could've, of course, come from anywhere, but…

Just in case, she thought.

She took a pair of binoculars out of her purse. What she saw in the distant abandoned hotel's parking lot was a charred person's remains and…

"Sherry," she said out loud. She then realised what was happening: Sherry was alive, and she killed a member of the Organisation.

She picked up her phone and began to dial the Boss's number.

 **Scene Transition**

"So…that's it?" Masumi asked, standing behind Shinichi/Shiho outside.

"…Yeah," Shinichi/Shiho said.

He tore the mask off of his face and the wig off of his head.

"You know, it's funny," Shinichi said. "Now that he's gone, I wish that he'd still be alive."

"Hey, how can you say something like that?" Eisuke protested.

"Because," Shinichi said, "From this moment onward...I am a murderer."

"Hold on!" Masumi said. "You didn't do it, Shinichi! You blew the match out! I saw you!"

"But I'm the one who had him drenched in gasoline, wasn't I?" Shinichi said. "If it wasn't for that, it wouldn't matter how much static electricity he came into contact with."

In the past year he, Shinichi Kudo, had figured out the truth behind an untold number of murder cases. He pronounced judgment upon them and condemned them to the confines of a jail cell. In the end, they would always break down and declare their motive, generally some heinous injustice committed against them or somebody who they cared about. Standing behind a couch or a wall with a voice-changing bowtie in his hand, he was never able to truly understand how the culprit felt. Now he did, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling at all. Gin's death gave him no satisfaction, no closure, and no peace. What Gin said about not being Ran's killer certainly didn't make Shinichi feel any better either.

Was Gin being honest? Was he really innocent of the crime which he had just been executed for?

A-am I going to jail for this? he thought.

"…Well, whatever happens next, good luck," Masumi said. "I mean that."

Then she and Eisuke got on Masumi's motorcycle and drove off, leaving Shinichi alone in the parking lot with Gin's corpse.

 **Scene Transition**

After having finished eating and paying the waitress, Chianti stepped into the black car.

"Did you hear?" Chianti asked.

"Yeah," the man in the driver seat, a big man wearing all black, said. "Our orders are to wait at any possible exit route Sherry might take if we don't take her out in a clean shot. That person is going to take the shot."

"H-him?" Chianti asked, blushing. "Are you sure he's ready to return to duty?"

"I don't see you asking that about me," the driver said.

"Yeah, but you're just driving a car!" Chianti said. "Have you no appreciation for the fine art which is gunning a person down at a long range?"

"I really don't," the driver said. "Anyway, if Sherry tries coming through here, then we are to pull the car out onto the middle of the road and form a barrier to incoming traffic."

Sound came from the walkie-talkie. The driver pushed the button.

"This is Tequila," the driver said. "Report, over."

"This is Bourbon," the guy on the other side said. "I've taken my position, over. Have you?"

"Not yet," Tequila said.

"Tequila, you need to get in position now!" the third voice ordered.

"Copy that, Calvados," Tequila said. "Vodka's covering the third escape route, right?"

"Yeah," Calvados said. "Now hurry, I'm almost in position to fire."

"Roger that. Tequila out."

With that, the black car sped out of the skyscraper parking lot to quickly go cover the escape route.

 **Scene Transition**

"I-I see him! I'll be ready to fire momentarily!"

"Him?" Vodka asked.

"Yeah, it's a teenage boy who's dressed like a girl," Calvados said. "I even see a wig and what looks like a facial mask lying on the pavement."

"Y-you mean that isn't Sherry?!" Vodka exclaimed.

"Nope," Calvados said. "I guess this means Sherry really is dead."

Vodka sighed. "But still, this person killed one of our own, didn't he?"

"That's right," Calvados confirmed. "I can make out what looks like a dead guy's remains over there near him. If the guy before he died sent up a black flare like that, he has to be one of ours."

"H-hold on," Vodka said. "Before you shoot, I'm going to send you a picture."

After a few seconds Calvados turned on his phone and looked at the picture.

"Shinichi Kudo," Calvados said, reading the caption on the picture out loud. "Yeah, that's him over there."

"For real?!" Vodka exclaimed. "Wait, I need to tell the Boss about this before you shoot."

"Why?" Calvados snapped, frustrated.

"Because the Boss wants this guy alive," Vodka said. "At all costs."

"What's the big f***ing deal?" Calvados said. "If I kill him, the Boss can just bring him back, right? At least this way he's guaranteed to not get away, right?"

"W-well I guess," Vodka said. "But I really think that the Boss needs to know."

"Screw the rules," Calvados said. "I'm taking the shot!"

To his surprise, Shinichi Kudo suddenly noticed the red laser light, leapt onto the skateboard, and dashed off at high speed.

"You're not getting away," Calvados said.

He fired a shot, which split the skateboard in two. Shinichi was sent tumbling several feet forwards. Sore all over, he hurriedly got up and slid into a ditch, taking him outside of Calvados's line of sight and making him momentarily safe.

"Calvados? Did you take the shot?"

"I haven't had the chance yet," Calvados growled. "But don't worry. He can't stay hidden in that ditch forever."

"A ditch? Do you want somebody to go over there and flush him out for you?" Vodka asked.

"No," Calvados said. "All I have to do is wait about thirty minutes and he'll poke his head out. Geez, this is such a pain though. My favourite show starts in 15 minutes."

"What's the name of it?" Vodka asked. "Maybe someone can record it for you."

"It's called Yoko's Cooking Show," Calvados said. "That girl's almost as hot as Vermouth. Speaking of which, what happened to her?"

"Last I heard she betrayed the Organisation so a sniper put her down," Vodka said. "So you really think it's going to take thirty minutes?"

"He's not going to come out from under there so quickly," Calvados said. "Nobody would. Not when there's a frickin' sniper targeting you. Just hold your positions for a while, get comfortable, and I'll tell you if he moves. And if he's still there in 30 minutes, then you can go flush him out."

 **Scene Transition**

Shinichi looked at his phone. He had been hiding in that ditch for 13 minutes.

I really bleeped up, he realised. Of all places to hide…a ditch?! A place where I'd be shot the second I came out? It seems like the only remaining option is to surrender. But how do I signal my desire to surrender to them? And does the Black Organisation even accept surrenders?

Well, he thought, I never imagined that I would end up dying like this. This is just like one of those WW1 movies. I might as well have joined the army if I was going to be hiding from enemy gunfire in a ditch. Maybe I should just go out in one last hurrah…there's no chance for me to live staying put, after all.

He readied his body to rush out of the ditch. On the count of three he was going to…

He suddenly heard a loud beeping noise. It was getting closer. Then it stopped in front of that very ditch with a loud thud. It was…

A garbage truck? Shinichi thought. A man in the front seat unrolled the window.

"If you want to live, climb inside," the man said.

"Who the heck are you?" Shinichi asked.

"There's no time to explain," the man said. "Hurry! If we dawdle too long it'll look suspicious."

Realising that this was his only chance, Shinichi leapt out of the trench, opened the door for the truck, and climbed inside. He lied down on the floor so that he wouldn't be visible to the sniper or any other BO agent with a good pair of binoculars.

 **Scene Transition**

"Screw you, garbage truck! Get out of the way!"

"Calvados, what's happening?" Vodka asked.

"Some garbage truck pulled out in front of the ditch," Calvados said. "Man, now I can't see the ditch at all!"

"Do you think maybe they're trying to rescue him?" Bourbon asked.

"It's not likely," Calvados said. "You see, one of the garbagemen got out of the truck and he's headed for a dumpster."

"That could be just a front," Chianti said. "Maybe on the other side that brat's climbing inside the truck."

"Calvados, for the time being keep your eye on the ditch," Vodka said. "We don't know whether that was just a normal garbage truck or not, but now we have no choice but to go after it. Once we know which way it's going, the other two vehicles will break position and pursue. We'll fill the truck with bullet holes."

"Roger that," Tequila said.

"Affirmative," Bourbon said.

 **Scene Transition**

"Who are you two?" Shinichi asked.

"Ah, my name is Ryan Jackson," the man on the left said. "We're with the CIA and we're colleagues of Hidemi Hondou."

"I'm Yoshiteru Nichimura," the guy driving said. "Elena Miyano sent us."

"To rescue me?" Shinichi asked.

"To take you to her," Ryan Jackson said. "That does, of course, preclude rescuing you. Hold on, we're about to enter the tunnel."

And enter the tunnel they did (it was a different tunnel than the one from before, with a different shape). As soon as they entered, they started slowing down.

"Why are we slowing?" Shinichi asked.

"They'll be waiting for us out the other end," Yoshiteru said. "We can't turn back against the flow of traffic, obviously, and even if we did they'd likely be waiting for us there too. So there's only one option."

The car pulled over and came to a stop. They all got out.

"I see," Shinichi said, seeing the tiny blue car. "We're switching midway, right?"

"Correct," Ryan Jackson said. "Now we'd better hurry up, or else they'll start to suspect that we've switched vehicles. Yoshiteru, I'll take the wheel this time."

 **Scene Transition**

"Hey, they entered the tunnel 10 minutes ago, didn't they?!" Bourbon exclaimed, his car parked about 100 yards outside of the tunnel. "Why the heck haven't I seen a big garbage truck yet?"

"They got us," Tequila said. "They must've switched vehicles inside the tunnel and came out the other end without us spotting them. They're probably long gone by now. Hey Vodka, do we call off the chase?"

Vodka sighed. "Yeah, I don't see any point in continuing. Calvados, how's things on your end?"

"Nothing's come out of the ditch yet," Calvados said. "I think he escaped with the garbage truck, just like everyone's saying. I'm going home."

"Me too," Bourbon said.

"Wait, somebody has to go extract the body for revival," Chianti said.

"I'll do it," Vodka said. "If that dead guy is Gin then it's only fitting that his partner extract him. The rest of you can go."

 **Scene Transition**

Subaru heard a knock. He walked over to the front door and opened it. Shukichi stepped inside.

"Hello," Subaru said.

"Hi," Shukichi said with a smile. "I look forward to trying your curry."

After they fixed their plates they sat down to eat.

"I must say, this is fantastic," Shukichi said after eating about half his plate.

"I got the recipe from a friend," Subaru said. "Speaking of friends, what do you know about Kohji Haneda?"

"Ah, Kohji? Yeah, I know of him," Shukichi said nonchalantly. "I look up to him, and he's the reason that I started playing Shogi."

"Solid story," Subaru said.

Shukichi stopped in his tracks. "W-wait, you don't think I'm being untruthful, do you?"

"Who can say?" Shuichi asked. "I've got my own story now, and I'd like for you to hear it. Tell me if you think this story is true or false."

"Uh, okay," Shukichi said awkwardly.

"Once upon a time, there was a Shogi player named Kohji Haneda," Subaru said. "He was extremely talented, and many people hoped that he would achieve all 7 major Shogi titles. About seventeen or eighteen years ago, at the age of twenty, he heard of a massive chess tournament being held in America, with hundreds if not thousands of competitors showing up. Chess was another game that he enjoyed, so he was excited by the prospect and wanted to go. There was just one problem: the trip would be prohibitively expensive for him. Fortunately for him, a wealthy American woman named Amanda Hughes had been paying close attention to his games."

"Well, well, looks like somebody has been doing his homework," Shukichi said.

"Please don't interrupt," Subaru said. "Anyways, this woman contacted him via a letter written in sloppy Japanese offering to pay for his whole trip to America, as well as the return ticket. Naturally, he accepted. Unfortunately, 36 hours before the trip he saw something. A truth that certain men were willing to kill to keep secret. And it involved a man named Rum."

Shukichi shifted uncomfortably in his seat and chuckled nervously. "Okay, I don't know where you got that part from."

"Not willing to wait for him to come back, this man named Rum purchased his own ticket to America to follow after Kohji," Subaru continued, ignoring Shukichi's remark. Kohji didn't know this at the time, but he discovered shortly after landing that someone was following him. He quickly realised that this somebody was Rum. Anyway, he tried to put his mind at ease and focus on the upcoming tournament. He met with the woman who sponsored the trip as well as with her bodyguard, Asaka Watanabe, a fairly feminine man with long hair who nonetheless was a good but not exceptional bodyguard. As he spent the next few hours with Amanda Hughes and Asaka he realised that a few things were…off."

Who the heck…is this guy?! Shukichi thought, trying hard to look calm and composed.

"The first thing was that Amanda actually did not pay for his return trip, though she kept this a secret," Subaru said. "The second thing was that she had deadly weapons inside of her suitcase at the hotel they were staying at. Granted, this is America we're talking about so that wasn't too unusual…until he realised that the hotel they were staying at had a strict no guns policy. On the evening before the tournament, Amanda revealed the truth: the real reason behind her paying for his ticket to America."

There was an eerie pause.

"It was her dream in life to murder the world's best shogi player," Subaru went on. "And so she and Asaka tried to kill him."

"T-this is ridiculous," Shukichi said, beginning to stand up. "Thank you for the curry, but…"

"Sit down," Subaru ordered with a strange authority. Not knowing why, Shukichi then sat back down.

"Now, Kohji was a pretty resourceful guy," Subaru said. "Somehow, he managed to overpower them both and stun them with a stun gun that belonged to one of the two of them. Then, he had an idea to get Rum off his back and save his own skin. He knew that he'd have to give up everything he had, but we both are in a unique position to understand that simply continuing to draw breath is in itself worth it."

Shukichi was shaking in his seat.

"What happened next would not be possible if it weren't for one extremely convenient fact," Subaru said. "Kohji had short hair and Asaka had long hair. Likewise, Kohji needed glasses and Asaka didn't. Other than this, however, they looked identical. So identical, in fact, that one had to stop and wonder if maybe they were long lost twins. In any case, however, Kohji went out and bought a long black wig for himself. Then he returned and cut Asaka's hair. Finally, he put his own glasses on Asaka and the trick was complete. He hid outside of the hotel room and waited for Rum to arrive and kill him. Sure enough, Rum showed up and entered the room. Believing Asaka to be Kohji, Rum murdered Asaka, and then Amanda, who was a witness to his crime. Satisfied with a job well done he left and presumably boarded a flight back to Japan. As soon as Rum was gone, however, Kohji emerged from hiding and re-entered the hotel room. He took a mirror and left behind a dying message that wouldn't be easily discovered. Whenever it was discovered and deciphered, however, it would implicate Asaka not only of being the killer but also of being Rum. Then, he left the hotel and used Asaka's identity to book a flight to Japan. After traveling back to Japan under Asaka's identity he went into hiding, and he's been in hiding here in his home country ever since."

"THAT'S ABSURD!" Shukichi roared, slamming his fists into the table. "You have no proof! If Kohji were still alive, I of all people would know it!"

"Ah, but he's living under a new identity," Subaru said. "He hasn't told anybody in all these years, not even his family. He built a new life for himself, a new identity. He even managed to change his appearance with a certain drug…Apotoxin 4869. Kohji, did I get any part of this wrong?"

Shukichi was silent.

In fact, Shukichi didn't speak for a good minute. Then he sighed peacefully.

"How did you…figure me out?" Shukichi/Kohji asked. "Subaru-san, just who on earth are you?"

"The woman who gave you that drug," Subaru said. "What did she say the odds were?"

"She said I had a one-third chance of surviving and being de-aged," Shukichi said. "She said that at the drug's current stage of development at the time, those were the best odds she could give me. I imagine it's practically risk-free today though. But again, who are you? You apparently know all about me but I know nothing about you."

"…You'll learn the truth one day," Subaru said. "For now, that information is classified."

"You know that isn't fair," Shukichi said.

"I never said that I'm a fair guy," Subaru said. "What's important, however, is…"

"Yeah, I know," Shukichi said. "You want to know what I saw that day, what it was that led Rum to try and kill me, right?"

Subaru/Shuichi smiled. Rum, I'm closing in on you, like a hunter corners his prey. Can you feel it?

 **Scene Transition**

Finally, the car came to a stop. After half a minute the trunk door was opened. Shinichi slowly climbed out and stepped into the underground parking lot.

"Sorry about that," Yoshiteru Nichimura said. "Understandably, we can't let you know where Elena Miyano is hiding at."

"I already have a general idea," Shinichi said.

"R-really?" Ryan Jackson asked. "How?"

"Well, from the trunk I was able to tell the car's approximate speed and direction," Shinichi said. "To know the time I simply had to look at my phone, so I know how long the car has been traveling. We're in Beika, right?"

Ryan Jackson sighed. "You're just like they say, Kudo-kun. We are indeed in Beika. Let's go inside then."

They headed for the elevator, pushed the Up button, and waited.

"This is where we part ways," Yoshiteru said. "From this point onwards only you are allowed inside because we don't have an appointment with Elena-san."

"I just have one warning," Ryan Jackson said. "Before you can speak with Elena, you're going to be checked very thoroughly by security. It's going to be unpleasant."

"How bad can it be?" Shinichi said reassuringly.

"Pretty bad," Yoshiteru said. "Well, here they come."

There was a ding and the elevator door opened. Half a dozen armed men were waiting; Ryan Jackson and Yoshiteru abruptly pushed Shinichi inside and the door closed.

At that moment they all grabbed Shinichi.

"H-hey wait a minute!" Shinichi protested.

One of the guards pushed the button for the second floor with his free hand and the elevator began to rise.

 **Scene Transition**

"Elena-sama is waiting past this door," the security guard said.

After having been subjected to a strip search and being forced to shower and switch into different clothes, Shinichi had cleared security and was now on the top floor.

Shinichi sighed. "Thank you."

He opened the door, stepped inside, and closed the door behind him.

To his surprise, it was an office room. Elena Miyano had an oversized wooden desk with a name card on it. The chair behind the desk rotated, revealing that Elena was sitting in it. She was a woman in her mid-forties, though she was still slim and fairly attractive.

"Ah, Kudo-kun, I've been expecting you," she said. "Please, sit down."

Shinichi slowly sat down at the desk.

"Sorry about security," she said. "When you're in my situation you must take every possible precaution against listening devices or homing beacons."

Shinichi struggled to speak but no words came out.

"What, you have nothing to say?" Elena asked.

"W-wow," Shinichi muttered. "So you're…Haibara's mother."

"That's correct, though we both know that isn't my daughter's name," Elena said. "You know, you and I actually have met before."

"Huh?" Shinichi asked. "When was this?"

"A very long time ago," Elena said. "Whenever you were very little. You probably don't remember. In fact, you met Shiho on that day too."

"I-I don't remember any of this," Shinichi said.

She shrugged. "Okay. I was just making small talk. I'll get down to business then. As you may or may not know, I called you here for a reason. My condolences on Ran's passing, by the way."

"Thank you," Shinichi said.

"This past year you have simultaneously been hiding from and waging a silent war against the men in black," Elena said. "The Black Organisation. But how much do you know about them?"

"Not that much," Shinichi admitted.

"Well, if you want I can explain who they are and what they want," Elena said.

"I have a feeling you were going to tell me anyway," Shinichi said.

"Very well then," Elena said. She coughed once to clear her throat. "As everybody knows, Japan lost the Second World War. But what if I were to tell you that not all Japanese government and military officials accepted this fact? What if some of them did not accept the surrender as legitimate?"

"That would be a good plot for a thriller novel," Shinichi said derisively.

"What if these officials banded together in secret to form a resistance?" Elena continued, ignoring Shinichi's' remark. "An organisation with the objective of eventually taking power and reviving the Japanese Empire. They called themselves the Black Army, a name inspired by the ultranationalist Black Dragon Society which existed up until its disbanding at the end of WW2 on orders from the American Occupation Authorities. With time, the Black Army would become better known as the Black Organisation."

"S-so the Black Organisation wants to revive the Japanese Empire?" Shinichi asked.

"That would be true today, if it weren't for a man named Colonel Hajime Suzuki, founder of the present day Suzuki Financial Group," Elena said. "He took control of the Black Army and from at point he began to make drastic changes to it."

"Drastic…changes?" Shinichi asked.

"Hajime Suzuki was an occultist," Elena explained. "He worshipped the ancient gods of Canaan, especially Ba'al and Milcom, who is better known as Moloch. Around this time, the Black Army recovered some top-secret documents from the Japanese government. These documents changed everything."

"How so?" Shinichi asked.

"These documents revealed the existence of another species, a second type of human being that once coexisted with our own," Elena said. "Well, to say that they coexisted with us is a bit of a stretch. The Japanese government discovered the existence of these species through an archaeological expedition to Mandatory Palestine in the summer of 1932, a one in a billion find. Not only was the entire skeleton intact but also the remains of a certain internal organ."

"Neanderthals?" Shinichi asked.

"I wish," Elena said. "No, this species was just like our own, except with one key difference. They had an organ in their bodies which allowed them to replace any part of their body through cannibalism. If they ate a human heart, they could replace their own heart with the eaten heart. Or an arm. Or a leg. In theory they could even replace their own heads…or their brains. The only organ which could not be replaced by an outside part was the organ that made all this possible. This species at one point lived in one place apart from Homo Sapiens, but they quickly realised that if they enslaved the homo sapiens species then they could have an unlimited source of replacement parts for themselves. So they did. This species was making extensive use of bronze weaponry before regular humans did, so they had the advantage and they enslaved us. The gods of the ancient near east were most likely members of this other species, who modern people aware of their existence call _Antichrist._ They're not to be confused with the enigmatic figure mentioned in the Book of Revelation, by the way. That's just a name somebody came up with for them."

How come I've never heard about this in history class? Shinichi wondered.

"One day at an undetermined point in history, all that changed," Elena said. "The human race learned to use the bronze technology of Antichrist and they rose up and drove their former masters to the brink of extinction. Over the course of thousands of years the Antichrist species survived but in hiding. Wherever their cannibalistic abilities were discovered they were lynched by fearful mobs. Historically, the last known place where they managed to find refuge before going extinct was Europe. Many of the witches burned at the stake in the dark ages were members of the Antichrist species. They live on in modern memory only in the popular depictions of vampires, most famously Count Dracula."

"Uh, this is very interesting, but what does any of it have to do with the Black Organisation?" Shinichi asked.

"Everything," Elena snapped. "Hajime Suzuki, upon learning of the existence of Antichrist, totally changed the purpose of the Black Army. Instead of reviving the Japanese Empire, they were going to revive Antichrist and restore them to their position of dominance over the human race. That is their current objective, though only its highest ranking members know the group's purpose. Even members like Gin wouldn't know."

"B-but like you said, this Antichrist is long gone," Shinichi said. "How can they be brought back?"

"Apotoxin 4869," Elena said, dropping a metaphorical bombshell.

Shinichi was stunned. "Y-you're saying that drug can raise the dead?!"

"No," Elena said. "But it's a step in that direction. You see, the main purpose behind developing that drug was for the Organisation to learn how to program cells in the human body, even dead cells. To order cells to do or to do that. Once they learned how to do this, they would eventually be able to give cells a new command."

"Be restored from death," Shinichi guessed.

"Bingo," Elena said. "APTX-4869 was just a stepping stone towards the development of a drug that could raise the dead. Once such a drug was mastered, they could raise Antichrist."

"D-did they do it?!" Shinichi asked.

"…Yes," Elena said. "Such a drug has been developed to the point that the Organisation uses it regularly to revive its dead agents. They've had this new drug at their disposal for about a month now. So you see, whenever Gin committed suicide at the police station, he really did die. But the Organisation later extracted his corpse and used their new drug to revive him. The Organisation's name for this drug is, by the way, ELXR-0666."

I-if that's true, then that means…Shinichi thought.

"I-I killed Gin," Shinichi said. "Earlier today. I-is he…?"

"They're probably reviving him as we speak," Elena said.

T-then I'm not a murderer…? Shinichi thought, relief sinking over his body.

"Fortunately for you, there's a side effect to being revived," Elena said. "A revived person will have no memory of the one week or so prior to death. That's why Gin, even after discovering your identity, did not come after you upon being revived. He had no memory of discovering your identity."

"S-so the Organisation still doesn't know that…?" Shinichi asked, shaking.

"They still do not know that Conan Edogawa and Shinichi Kudo are the same person," Elena confirmed.

Shinichi was breathing hard. "I-I have so many unanswered questions, then. First of all, why have I never heard about these Antichrist?"

"It's been intentionally kept a secret from the people and governments of the world by the Black Organisation," Elena said. "The Black Organisation has erased any archaeological evidence pointing to the existence of such a species, and they've silenced any outside scientist who discovered evidence of Antichrist. Even so, to our knowledge a second intact part-replacement organ has never been discovered by sources outside of the Organisation. Without such an organ, even an Antichrist skeleton looks just like a normal human skeleton. In 1997, the Organisation conducted a massive expedition to Siberia to uncover intact Antichrist samples in the frozen tundra. They recovered as many as 300 intact samples, if my sources are correct. That's potentially 300 Antichrist which can be restored to life by ELXR-0666. They've also been experimenting with the idea of cloning ever since Dolly the Sheep was born in 1996. To my knowledge they have yet to succeed in creating a live Antichrist through cloning, though that could change in the near future."

"If the Organisation has a drug that can raise the dead, though, then couldn't they already revive all their Antichrist samples?" Shinichi asked.

"That is correct," Elena said. "The possibility exists that they already have, or that they will in the near future. Until revival, all of their samples are stored in liquid nitrogen at a facility in Hokkaido. However, their plans won't be in reach simply upon the revival of Antichrist. Even if they revived all of their several hundred existing samples, humanity would still be the dominant species of planet Earth. That has to change, which is why the Organisation is now devoting its resources towards developing a weapon that can destroy human civilisation."

Shinichi sighed. "By this point nothing surprises me anymore."

"I bet you're wrong," Elena said. "I bet what I'm about to tell you will surprise you."

"And what is that?" Shinichi asked, chuckling derisively.

"What if I were to tell you that I can bring Ran back to life?"

 **To be Continued**

 **Ending:**

(Red by BREAKERZ)

I'll never forget the moment when I realized you were gone

Your body was cold as ice in my arms, a beautiful empty shell

A burning tear streaked across my face, I could hardly breathe

They pried me away, scratch marks engraved into your flesh

I'll never forget the moment when they laid you in the ground

Walking away that day was the hardest thing I've ever had to do

I returned to my life a robot, the days coming and going like clouds

I fell into bed, begging for the day to end while dreading tomorrow

I used to think the world was black, white, and a multitude of brilliant colors

But now the only colors in my world are gray and a maddening shade of red

That man's face is burned into the back of my head, haunting my sleepless nights

I know what I have to do tonight, even if I must be no longer the man you loved

Next time on Detective Conan:

Elena Miyano makes Shinichi an offer he simply cannot refuse. A black crow is born.

 **Next Conan's Hint:** Cognac


	5. Episode 914

Shinichi hardly knew where to begin. "I-I have so many questions, then! First off, why've I never heard about these Antichrist?"

"It's been intentionally kept a secret from the people and governments of the world by the Black Organisation," Elena said. "The Black Organisation has erased any archaeological evidence pointing to the existence of such a species, and they've silenced any outside scientist who discovered evidence of Antichrist. Even so, to our knowledge a second intact part-replacement organ has never been discovered by sources outside of the Organisation. Without such an organ, even an Antichrist skeleton looks just like a normal human skeleton. In 1997, the Organisation conducted a massive expedition to Siberia to uncover intact Antichrist samples in the frozen tundra. They recovered as many as 300 intact samples, if my sources are correct. That's potentially 300 Antichrist which can be restored to life by ELXR-0666. They've also been experimenting with the idea of cloning ever since Dolly the Sheep was born in 1996. To my knowledge they have yet to succeed in creating a live Antichrist through cloning, though that could change in the near future."

"If the Organisation has a drug that can raise the dead, though, then couldn't they just go ahead and revive their Antichrist samples?" Shinichi asked.

"That is correct," Elena said. "The possibility exists that they already have, or that they plan to do so in the near future. However, their plans won't be in reach simply upon the revival of Antichrist. Even if they revived all of their several hundred existing samples, no, even if they had tens of thousands of samples, humanity would still be the dominant species of planet earth. That has to change, which is why the Organisation is devoting its resources towards the development of a weapon that can destroy human civilisation."

Shinichi sighed. "By this point, nothing surprises me anymore."

"A hundred Yen you're wrong," Elena said. "I'm betting that you'll find what I'm about to tell you quite shocking."

"And what's that?"

"What if I were to tell you that I can bring Ran Mouri back to life?"

 **OPENING** :

( _Ai Wa Kurayami No Naka De_ by ZARD, in the key of A Minor)

 _Ai wat e saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

(As the end draws near the war's fallout results in tougher and tougher cases! To save Ran's life, will I have to join the Men in Black? Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child but the mind of an adult, my name is… _Meitantei Conan_!)

 _Yoake wo highway_

 _Kono omoi to be your slave_

 _Oh tonight and every night you'd be mine_

 _Meutsuri ki ni naru koi no kakehiki_

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa ki magure beat ni dakare_

 _Mitsumete in your eyes_

 _Ai wa maboroshi kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa furuete beat ni dakare_

 _Kono mama in your eyes, oh yeah!_

 **Black Gambit: Part Five!**

There was a pause. Then Shinichi laughed.

"Stop pulling my leg," he said. "Really, don't get my hopes up."

"Oh, you don't believe me?" Elena said.

"Hold on, lady!" Shinichi said. "You said it was the Organisation that made that drug. You wouldn't have access to something like that!"

"Are you forgetting that my husband and I were the original developers of the Apotoxin?" Elena pointed out. "In hiding we conducted our own research on the drug parallel to that by the Organisation. Believe it or not, we completed developing ELXR-0666 quite some time ago. We've had the completed drug at our disposal for many years now. I could even give it to you right now, but I'm not going to do that."

"And why not?!" Shinichi demanded, standing up abruptly and angrily.

"Because then I'd lose my only leverage over you," Elena said. "There's something I need you to do for me first."

Shinichi sat back down again. He compulsively grasped Elena's hand. "What is it? I'll do anything you want."

"Anything?" Elena asked.

"Anything!" Shinichi affirmed desperately. "You want me to kill for you? I'll do it, as long as the person's already a scumbag."

"Fortunately, I'm not asking you to kill anyone, though the situation may one day arise where I have to ask that of you," Elena said. "Before I tell you what I want, I'd like to continue with my explanation."

"…Go ahead," Shinichi said.

"One question that you might have is why in the world did I and my husband fake our deaths and abandon Shiho and Akemi," Elena said. "That right there is a classic example of terrible parenting, right? Well, believe it or not we had good reason for doing that. First of all, there is a White Organisation. That is, an umbrella group comprised of various factions which share the common goal of taking down the Black Organisation. Atsushi and I secretly lead this White Organisation, though believe it or not we were not its founders. Not quite. We control many resources of our very own, though much of our power comes through collaboration with groups like the FBI, the CIA, and the Public Security Bureau. Currently the leadership of these groups believe the Black Organisation to be a more or less normal criminal syndicate, with no greater aim than to make money. Only a few individuals within these agencies know the truth. Those people who know the truth include the people who have infiltrated the Organization, such as Shuichi Akai, Rei Furuya, and Hidemi Hondou, as well as their superiors, such as Ryan Jackson and James Black, as well as some of their trusted comrades, such as Andre Camel and Yoshiteru Nichimura. The duty of these individuals is to do their jobs and report to uninformed higher-ups while keeping the true nature of the Organisation hidden from their respective governments."

"Why won't you let the American and Japanese governments know?" Shinichi asked.

"Because of ELXR-0666," Elena said. "If any government knew about this drug, it would do everything in its power to acquire it and put an end to death, or at least in its own country. Of course, after it was used in one country it'd quickly spread to others."

"And that's a bad thing because…?" Shinichi asked.

"The world is having a hard enough time as it is feeding, clothing, housing, and providing potable water to seven billion people," Elena said. "Can you imagine what would happen if people stopped dying and people who were already dead were brought back to life? The world's population would quickly explode far beyond sustainable levels almost overnight! Humans must continue to die and stay dead or else our resources will dwindle to nothing, and then we'd all go the way of the dinosaurs. We understand what's best for the human race far better than self-serving, compulsive, ignorant, and naively idealistic politicians do. This pill, this elixir of immortality, rightfully has the Number of the Beast attached to its name. That being said, our species can afford for a few dozen people to be revived from the dead."

"A few dozen people?" Shinichi repeated.

"To ensure the loyalty of our underlings and our associates with various governmental agencies, we've initiated something called the White Privilege Protocol," Elena said. "Any person who devotes their lives to helping us defeat the Black Organisation will, whenever the Men in Black have finally been defeated, be allowed to use our version of ELXR-0666 to revive a single dead loved one. The Organisation hasn't been destroyed yet, but I can see that you're a man who isn't willing to wait, so we'll make an exception and give you the pill early. If you're willing to help us, that is."

"There's one thing you're forgetting," Shinichi said. "In Japan, cremation is preferred over burial by over 95% of the population. Will the drug work on a person who has been cremated?"

"No," Elena said. "A man who has been slightly doused in gasoline and then set on fire? Sure. Full-blown cremation followed by your country's bone-picking ceremony? Not a chance."

Shinichi saw his only remaining hopes dashed apart by these words.

"You'll be pleased to hear that Ran's body has not been cremated," Elena said with a smile.

"Huuh?!" Shinichi said. "What are you talking about?! I was there! Of course she was...!"

"Midway to the crematory," Elena said, "the hearse stopped at a gas station, correct?"

"Uh, yeah, I do recall that," Shinichi said.

"At the gas station Shuichi switched Ran's corpse in the casket with that of a 20 year old dead woman," Elena said. "Ran's body should be in storage at the Kudo Residence as we speak."

Akai-san did that? Shinichi thought. So that's what the third freezer was for. But did there used to be two? Is there another body in there?

"Hey, Elena-san, who is Akai-san going to use his 'white privilege' on?" Shinichi asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, his deceased father," Elena said. "But recent circumstances lead me to believe that he'll be using it on someone else. I told him that mine was going to be used on Akemi, so he won't need to use his on her."

"And Rei-san?" Shinichi asked.

"He'll be using his on that man, most likely," Elena said. "I can't remember the man's name, but I recall that his codename within the Black Organisation was Scotch. Anyway, if you agree to join us, you will be given your own 'privilege', and you'll be able to use it on Ran early. I feel like I can trust you, after all."

"You want me to join your White Organisation?" Shinichi asked.

"Well, yes and no," Elean said. "What I really want you to do is…"

She paused for dramatic effect.

"I want you to join the Men in Black."

 **Scene Transition**

Is it…is it true? he thought. Is there really an elixir in this world that can revive a dead person?

After Ran's death, he had to rethink basic assumptions about the future. Doors that he was once confident he would one day walk through were now sealed shut. Things that he had done in the past with Ran, as Shinichi or as Conan or both, he would never be able to do with her again. He had to envision a future completely absent of Ran. How that world would be drastically different, how dreary and empty it would be…

Now, however, he had hope that those doors weren't sealed shut after all. Perhaps he would do all those things with Ran again; perhaps they were share a great many more memories together in the future. For the first time since Ran's death, he had something to look forward to.

His eyes felt really warm and wet. Before he knew it he was crying…again. But this time it was different. He was crying for a totally different reason now than why he had been crying for the past few days. Now he was crying out of happiness, and he didn't want to ruin the moment.

The car came to a halt. The door to the trunk opened.

"Are you…crying, kid?" Yoshiteru asked, incredulous.

Realising how unmanly he looked, Shinichi shook his head. "N-no. I'm not crying."

I've spent way too much time as Conan, Shinichi thought.

"I trust you'll be safe alone?" Ryan Jackson asked him.

"Yeah, I think so," Shinichi said, slowly climbing out of the trunk.

"If you need to contact us, I can give you my number," Yoshiteru said.

"No thanks," Shinichi said. "Once I've joined the Men in Black, they'll likely check my phone contact list among other things. If they see the name of a CIA agent on that list, it wouldn't be pretty."

"Anyway, about our offer," Ryan Jackson said.

"Yeah, I'll do it," Shinichi said. "You didn't have to offer me anything for that, if it means bringing your friend back."

"You're a good kid," Yoshiteru said. "Well, see 'ya."

With that, Ryan Jackson and Yoshiteru got into the car and drove off, leaving Shinichi right outside the Kudo Residence.

As soon as they were gone he ran inside his house.

"Oh, so you're not dead," Subaru said.

"Akai-san, is Ran's body down there?!" Shinichi demanded.

Subaru sighed. "Did Elena tell you that?"

Ignoring Subaru's question, Shinichi ran down into the basement. He opened the first freezer. What he saw was…

Akemi Miyano.

He then opened the second freezer. What he saw was…

Hidemi Hondou.

He opened the third freezer and let out a sigh of relief.

It was Ran. There was hope after all.

Subaru stepped down into the basement.

"Akai-san, what is the meaning of this?" Shinichi asked. "Why do you keep the bodies of those women in the freezer?"

"I take the bodies out and have sex with them every day," Subaru said.

Subaru had such a stoic look on his face that Shinichi couldn't tell if he was serious.

"I'm kidding," Subaru said. "Their bodies are being stored here to minimise bodily deterioration prior to revival. I don't have access to any of that fancy-spangled cryostasis medical stuff."

"Listen," Shinichi said. "You're going to have to put Hidemi Hondou's body back right now."

"Yeah, Elena filled me in on the CIA's plan a few minutes ago," Subaru said. "I'll do it after I enjoy a late night snack. I'm fixing myself a grilled cheese sandwich. Do you want me to make you one?"

"No thanks," Shinichi said. "I'm going to stay at the Professor's house for the night."

Shinichi and Subaru headed back upstairs. Instead of leaving, however, Shinichi grabbed his laptop and sat down. He opened WordPad and began typing up a message. After he was finished he printed the message on the nearby printer. Then he went to find and envelope, a pen, and some tape.

"You're leaving those men a note in case they come here tonight?" Subaru asked.

"Yeah," Shinichi said. "I'm going to leave it outside where they'll be sure to find it."

 **Scene Transition**

 **The Next Day**

With a yawn, Shinichi got out of bed. His own adult-sized bed, for the first time in quite a long while. He walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Shinichi said to Dr. Agasa and Haibara.

"I'm guessing you won't be at school today," Haibara said sarcastically.

"Nope," Shinichi said. "I have a date with destiny at 10:30."

"But do you really think they'll just let you join like that?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"Professor, they'll be the ones asking," Shinichi said. "I'm guessing they'll even throw in a nice salary."

"So the Men in Black will be paying you to spy on their every activity and report back to my mother," Haibara said, more than a little amused.

"Can Elena Miyano really deliver on her promise, though?" Dr. Agasa asked. "Can she really raised Ran-kun from the dead?"

"That's what I'm going to find out," Shinichi said. "But she said she won't give me the pill until I've been accepted into the Organisation. If all things go well, I should be administering the pill to Ran by the end of today. Based on what Elena said, the pill should only take about an hour or two to kick in, so I might even have her back by midnight."

"But how will you explain it to her parents?" Dr. Agasa asked.

Shinichi was stunned. "…No clue. Crap! I guess I'm gonna have to ask Elena-san about that."

"Speaking of which, what does she look like?" Haibara asked. "I've only talked to her over the phone."

"She's still a beautiful woman, even with her relatively advanced age," Shinichi said. "Her hair's red like yours, except a little more so. She was wearing big glasses, which I guess means there's a good chance you will too one day."

"What was she wearing?" Haibara asked.

"A suit," Shinichi said. "She looked very professional and business-like. Well, what she was wearing did reveal quite a bit of chest…"

Haibara sighed. "I'm jealous, honestly. You never even knew her and yet you got to meet her before I did."

"Actually, she said that her and I did meet once, long ago," Shinichi said. "She also said that on that day you and I met. Haibara, do you remember us ever having met before you were shrunk?"

"No," Haibara said. "This is the first I've heard of such a meeting. Speaking of meetings, did the Men in Black read the note you left them?"

"I don't know yet," Shinichi said. "I'm going to have to call Subaru-san to find out."

Haibara sighed. "You can cut the act. I know he's Shuichi Akai, the man who dated my sister."

Shinichi winced. "Y-you know? Since when?"

"Since the night you couldn't sleep and decided to pay him a visit," Haibara said.

"Wait a minute, you were listening in on us?!" Shinichi protested.

"I was actually there in that house," Haibara said. "Just behind a corner. Well, he knew I was there the whole time so he knows that I know. You have the weirdest dreams by the way."

Shinichi blushed. "Well, never mind, I'm just going go outside and see for myself if they got that message. Bye."

He headed outside and walked over to the Kudo residence. Sure enough, the note which he had taped to the front gate was gone. Somebody had taken it.

He grinned.

 **Scene Transition**

 **10:30 AM**

Gin got out of the vehicle and entered the park area. All around him were mothers with picnic lunches and children playing.

So many people, he thought. No wonder he picked this place.

He took the letter out of his coat pocket and read it:

 _To the Men in Black,_

 _I'm tired of you chasing me around and forcing me to never show my face anywhere. Tonight was the last straw for me. So I'll come to you, how about that? Meet me tomorrow at 10:30 AM in Haido Park. Send a single agent who is completely unarmed or else I won't show. Whatever your business is with me we'll settle it there._

 _Sincerely, Shinichi Kudo, age 18_

Gin snickered. "What a naïve little brat. How the heck did a guy like this succeed in killing me?"

"That's a very good question, Gin."

Gin heard the sound of a gun cocking. Shinichi was standing right behind him with a gun pointed at the back of Gin's head.

Gin took a deep breath and grinned. "You can put that away. I mean you no harm. Not until you've heard us out, anyway."

"I'm not pointing this at you because I'm scared," Shinichi said. "In fact, I'm hoping you make a wrong move."

Gin snickered again. "Is that so, huh? You've got spunk, kid. I have to give you that. But tell me: in a crowded place like this, could you really pull the trigger? In just standing there like you are now somebody is bound to see that gun, so if I were you I'd put it away for now."

Realising that Gin was right, Shinichi put the gun away.

"The park bench right there," Gin said, pointing. "You want to talk there?"

"Sure."

 **Scene Transition**

Good, they're both busy over there, she thought. Now's my chance.

She emerged from behind the tree and headed for the black Porsche 356A, coming around to the back side so that Gin wouldn't be able to see her.

She peeked inside; no one was in the car.

She took the lock pick out of her pocket and inserted it into the door handle. After a few seconds she heard a click and the door was open. She pulled it and opened the door wide. Then she began to climb inside when…

"Little girls shouldn't be playing in the front seat."

A cold chill running down her spine, Haibara turned around to see Subaru Okiya/Shuichi Akai standing there.

"That tape in your pocket," Subaru said. "It contains evidence of me, doesn't it? The proof that I am Shuichi Akai, the man whom the Organisation has presumed dead."

Haibara didn't know what to say.

"Your motivation is simple enough," Subaru/Shuichi said. "You hold me responsible for Akemi's death, so you were going to leave them this anonymous tip as to my hidden identity. And yes, I was aware of the listening devices you placed in my house from the moment I re-entered it that day."

"…What are you going to do now?" Haibara asked, barely a whisper.

"Nothing," Subaru said. "What happens next is entirely up to you. If you want to go through with this, I won't stop you. But…if you do, then Hidemi Hondou will stay dead."

"I-I don't understand what you mean," Haibara said.

"Kudo-kun now plays the key role in a certain plan," Subaru said. "If he's successful, Kir will not only be revived but also reinstated in the Black Organisation like nothing happened. If you expose me as Shuichi Akai,or even just reveal that I'm still alive, none of that will be possible. Personally, I'm prepared to die, or at least flee to a remote corner of the globe and live the rest of my life under an assumed name, but is Eisuke-kun ready to never see his sister again?"

Haibara was paralysed with indecision.

"I'll make it easy for you," Subaru said. He held out his hand. "If you give me the tape now, I will dispose of it. Whatever your move is, you'd better hurry before somebody sees you."

Haibara looked her sister's former boyfriend in the eye, but he was squinting far beyond what was normal even for a Japanese person. She sighed and took the tape out of her pocket. She handed it to Subaru, who took it in his left hand with a grateful smile. He put it in his pocket.

She pushed the Lock Button, got out of the car, and closed the door. Subaru offered his hand. After a moment's hesitation she took it.

Holding hands, Subaru Okiya and Ai Haibara walked away from the vehicle.

 **Scene Transition**

Shinichi and Gin sat down at the wooden table.

"So, I hear you roasted me alive last night," Gin said.

"Yeah, it was quite the spectacle," Shinichi said. "I almost felt bad for you."

"Well, I don't remember any of it, so no hard feelings," Gin said. "I was probably trying to kill you anyway."

"Actually, you thought I was Sherry," Shinichi said.

"My, my, that's embarrassing," Gin lamented. "One would think that I'd be smarter than to fall for something like that."

"Well, I did fool you one time before that," Shinichi said. "Anyway, you said you wanted me to hear you out. I'm all ears, so speak."

"You just want to get straight to the point, don't you?" Gin said. "Very well then. Truth be told, a lot of things have been happening under our noses lately. Things are slipping right past us, things which we should be able to detect and put a stop to. What we need is a private investigator, a skilled detective. I hear you're one of the best detectives there is, right?"

You have no idea, Shinichi thought of a deadpan look, thinking of the dozens if not hundreds of cases he solved which were unfairly accredited to Uncle in this past year.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," Shinichi said. "Why? Are you suggesting that the Organisation wants to recruit me?"

"That's exactly right," Gin said. "We actually did have a private detective a while back, but he screwed up big time so he had to run for the hills. If you're as good as they say, though, you won't have to worry about something like that happening to you."

"You're referring to Moonshine, right?"

"Yeah," Gin said. "How is it that you know so much about our Organisation anyway?"

"Let's just say I've been doing quite some digging this past year," Shinichi said. "You wouldn't believe the things I've learned."

"And that's exactly why we want you," Gin said. "So you can use those same 'digging' skills against our enemies."

"I see," Shinichi said. "I just have one question: what's in it for me?"

"That much should be obvious," Gin said. "If you prove yourself a valuable asset to our Organisation, you won't have to worry about us killing you in your sleep. It simply wouldn't be in our best interests to do so."

"I get that, but what about the money?" Shinichi asked.

"You will, of course, receive an annual salary of five million Yen after one year," Gin said. "In the meantime, any expenses of serving our Organisation will be paid for. More importantly, however, you're young and wild. You probably lust for adventure; no, I'm sure you do, otherwise you wouldn't have become a high school detective. Serving our Organisation will provide you with as much adventure as you can handle. More than you can handle, in fact."

"Oh, I think I can handle it," Shinichi said.

"Oh, and you'll get a codename after your first successful mission," Gin said. "Just thought I'd throw that out there. As you know, your codename would be based off an alcoholic beverage."

"I look forward to having a codename," Shinichi said.

"So we have a deal?" Gin asked.

"Yeah," Shinichi said. "When do I begin?"

"Right now."

Gin turned on his phone and called the Boss. He raised the phone to his ear.

"He said yes," Gin said. "No, there were no complications…Okay, he'll be there in a few minutes."

Then he hung up. "Follow me."

 **Scene Transition**

"Hey, you still in there?" Gin asked, knocking on the door.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a few seconds."

Gin sighed. You're almost as bad as a girl, he thought.

Then the door opened and Shinichi stepped out.

"How do I look?" he asked.

"I won't consider you to be a real member until you have that smell," Gin said. "Come on, let's go."

"Where?" Shinichi asked.

"To my car," Gin said. "And then ot your first case as Cognac."

"Cognac?" Shinichi asked. "Is that my codename?"

"Yeah," Gin said. "It's a type of brandy. Wear that name proudly, because it's never been used for any other agent before."

Unlike Gin, he thought.

 **Scene Transition**

"Hey, can I stop by my house real quick?" Shinichi asked.

Gin sighed. "What for?"

"I've got a little gift for my new employers, as a show of good faith."

"Make it quick," Gin said, turning into the neighborhood where the Kudo Residence was.

As soon as the car stopped, Shinichi got out and ran inside. As soon as the saw the notebook sitting on the kitchen table he grabbed it and ran back out. He got back inside the car.

"What's that?" Gin asked.

"Give it to your Boss later," Shinichi said, handing the notebook to Gin.

"Don't forget, That Person is your boss too now," Gin said, putting the notebook in the glove compartment.

Gin cranked the music up. It was…

"Mozart?" Shinichi said. "Heh, I didn't really have you pegged as that kind of guy."

"Don't judge, it's relaxing."

 **Scene Transition**

The car entered the underground parking lot. It came to a stop in the midst of several other black vehicles, including two motorcycles.

"So this is the boy who killed you, huh?"

Gin and Shinichi turned to faced Chianti.

"Yeah," Gin said, taking a cigarette and a lighter out of his pocket.

"He's so cute," Chianti said. "I hate cute."

I'm not even Conan right now, Shinichi thought with a deadpan look.

"Don't you have a partner?" Shinichi asked. "You know, that older man."

"Unfortunately, Korn won't be taking part in our operations ever again," Calvados said, his car window having been rolled down. "I hear the old man defected and made a run for it."

"Don't repeat baseless rumours like that!" Chianti snapped. "We don't know what happened to Korn, but he was a good agent and a friend of mine, so don't ever let me hear you smearing his name like that again."

"*Ahem*, anyways, we're only here today to meet the new agent," Tequila said, his car window having been rolled down as well. "Only Cognac and Bourbin will take part in today's mission."

"Well, I look forward to working with you."

Shinichi turned around again, this time to face Rei Furuya/Tooru Amuro/Bourbon, who had arrived on a motorcycle.

"Me too," Shinichi said, extending his hand. Rei shook it.

"Hey, Vodka," Gin said coolly.

Vodka got ouf of Tequila's car. "Yeah, _Aniki_?"

"Thanks for last night," Gin said.

Vodka blushed and chuckled nervously in reaction to this rare compliment from Gin.

"Anyway, let's get going," Gin said to Vodka. "We've got work to do."

Gin and Vodka got into the Porsche 356A and drove off. Then so did everyone else, leaving Shinichi and Rei alone.

 **Scene Transition**

"Well, it's time to get to work," Rei said. 'First, I'm going to tell you your mission."

Rei pulled a slip of paper out of his notebook and handed it to Shinichi. It read: _There's a bug hidden on your clothes. Gin is listening to every sound you make and everything you say. Act natural, do not remove it or there will be consequences. Gin has not been told about Antichrist but rather that the Organisation is experimenting with the creation of vampires for whatever reason._

Shinichi read the note and handed it back to Rei. "Okay, what about my mission?"

"We're going monster hunting," Rei said.

"Monster hunting?"

Rei quickly wrote down a note and handed it to Shinichi. It read: _Did Elena tell you about Antichrist?_

Shinichi took the pen from Rei and wrote: _Yes she did. Are we going to hunt down an Antichrist?_

"Listen, kid, I hear you've discovered a great many secrets about the Organisation," Rei said, speaking more to Gin than Shinichi. "To perform your mission effectively, I have to let you in on this other one. The truth is, our Organisation has been conducting experiments in genetic engineering. We've recently created something very close to a vampire, a creature than can consume the organs of any person and replace his own organs with the ones eaten. A form of body replacement."

Shinichi fake gasped. "For real?"

"Yeah," Rei said.

He handed another note to Shinichi. It read: _They call it Patient Zero, the Organisation's first successful attempt at reviving an Antichrist. He's been kept alive so they could find out whether there are any adverse long-term effects to revival. Unfortunately, it escaped from their custody twelve days ago at around 4 PM and now it's roaming the streets of Tokyo. If the local authorities find it before we do, the world will found out about the existence of Antichrist, and the Organisation simply cannot afford for that to happen, and neither can we._

"The vampire escaped from a laboratory twelve days ago and now the Organisation wants it taken out before any outsiders discover its existence," Rei said.

Shinichi wrote on the bottom of the note and handed it back to Rei. It read: _Can you give me more information?_

Rei wrote on another note and handed it back to Shinichi. It read: _The creature is estimated to have died around 4,000 years ago in Siberia, as is the case with their other samples. It appears to be a male in its mid-30s. It has brown curly hair, brown eyes, pale skin, and a strong build._

"I understand," Shinichi said. "Can you tell me what the vampire looks like?"

More for Gin's ears than Shinichi's, Rei repeated his description of the creature.

"The creature is elusive," Rei warned. "None of us Black Crows have been able to find any leads on its whereabouts."

"Is there any reason to assume it might know the basic layout of the city of Tokyo?" Shinichi asked.

"Well, it's possible," Rei said. "If the creature attacked a random person and ate his or her brain, then it could learn how to function in our world and how to speak Japanese. Furthermore, it could eat the rest of the person and take on his or her form. Then it could take his or her money and ID and assume this person's identity."

"Okay then," Shinichi said. "I just have one more question. Can you take me to the lab where the creature escaped from?"

"Uh, about that," Rei said with a nervous chuckle. "The Organisation doesn't really trust you with that kind of information yet. I can take you outside the facilitiy though."

"Please do so," Shinichi said. "We'll be taking your bike, right?"

"Yeah," Rei said. Then his phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the number. "Uh, please wait over there while I take this call. It's from the Boss."

 **Scene Transition**

" _Moshi-moshi_?" Rei said.

"Ah, Tooru-chan, I have a request," Yoko Okino said.

"A request?"

"I hear you and Shinichi Kudo have begun the search for Patient Zero," she said. "I want you to capture Patient Zero for me, but tell the Council that you killed him and destroyed all evidence."

"Why?"

"Tooru-chan, if I could tell you, I wouldn't be ordering you to keep this a secret from the Council, would I?" Yoko asked.

"I guess not," Rei said with a nervous chuckle. "All right, I will do as you ask."

"Awesome," Yoko said. "I've ordered Gin to stop listening in through the bug on Kudo-kun's clothes, because that would obviously be bad for us. Wait about a minute or two before saying anything confidential to Kudo-kun, just to be safe."

"Thank you very much," Rei said. "Okay, bye."

 **Scene Transition**

Rei walked back over to where Shinichi/Cognac was.

"What did the Boss want?" Shinichi asked.

Rei put his hand on the back of Shinichi's shirt's collar and pulled a tiny listening device out. He dropped it on the ground and crushed it underfoot violently.

" _Ch_ - _chotto matte_!" Shinichi protested. "I thought you said there'd be consequences for doing that!"

"New orders," Rei said. "From the Boss. She wants us to capture Patient Zero alive, and she doesn't want Gin knowing about it. We can talk freely now."

"She?" Shinichi repeated.

"Yoko Okino is the new Boss of the Black Organisation," Rei said.

I…I've MET the Boss personally?! Shinichi realised. To be fair, she hadn't been Boss at the various times that he haed met her, assuming that she became Boss upon Vermouth killing the former Boss.

I knew that Uncle had a peculiar taste in women, but this takes things to a new level, he thought with a deadpan look.

"This is excellent," he said with a morbid grin.

"Hold on," Rei said. "I know what you're thinking. As Conan-kun you personally meet Yoko Okino rather frequently, so you're thinking about killing her and capturing her the next time you see her, right?"

"Y-yeah," Shinichi said, embarrassed by how transparent his thought process was to Rei.

"Well you can't," Rei said. "If she's suddenly killed or kidnapped, the Organisation will know that I told her assailant that she was Boss, since I'm the only person outside of the Council who knows that. Even if you do, they'll just replace her with somebody else, so nothing would be accomplished. Even if the Organisation comes to trust you, if they simply find out that I told you Yoko Okino is the boss it would mean serious trouble for both of us. Listen, you're in an ideal position right now. You've made it into the ranks of the Black Organisation, so don't ruin this opportunity unless absolutely necessary. The next time you meet her, act like you don't know she's the Boss or associated with the Organisation in any way, regardless if you meet her as Shinichi Kudo or as Conan-kun. Do you understand me?"

Shinichi nodded somewhat reluctantly. "Okay."

"Come on, let's head over to the facility that Patient Zero escaped from."

 **Scene Transition**

"Footprints," Shinichi noted.

They were now standing outside of the razor wire fence that kept intruders out of the Organisation's research facility.

"They could belong to anyone, couldn't they?" Rei asked.

"I don't think so," Shinichi said. "There's no shoe pattern in the print and one can make out toeprints, so I don't think the person who made this print was wearing shoes. Only a person who lived 4,000 years ago would go around without shoes, right? Furthermore, the size and depth of the print matches your description of Patient Zero's body type."

"Well, I guess," Rei said, looking at the footprint. "It rained in this area on the day of Patient Zero's escape, but not on any day afterwards so far, so I suppose his footprints could still be intact. The footprints lead towards the city, so…"

"Yeah, it's pretty easy to figure out what happened," Shinichi said. "Come on, let's see where they lead."

They followed the footprints until they reached concrete, at which point the footprints stopped.

"So he came through here," Rei said.

"If I were Patient Zero, I'd probably try to hide," Shinichi said. "As soon as possible."

They headed into the nearest back alley.

"After he managed to find a hiding place, his priorities would shift," Shinichi said. "He'd want to know where the heck he was. Cannibalising some passerby's brain would be an ideal way to learn. And like you said earlier, with his ability if he attacked and killed said passerby he could assume that person's identity and blend into modern human society."

"Assuming he found someone, Patient Zero could be living as any person in the city of Tokyo," Rei said. "D**n it, this is impossible!"

"It's not impossible," Shinichi said. "There is no such thing as a perfect crime. The first thing we need to do is find out where it was that Patient Zero killed and ate his victim. I assumed that it'd be here, but…"

"There's no evidence that he was ever here in this alleyway," Rei said. "He left behind no evidence. None that we see, anyway."

"Hold on," Shinichi said. "Whenever an Antichrist replaces its own body parts with someone else's, I'm assuming it simply sheds said body part, correct?"

"Actually, the discarded body parts reverts to this stuff that looks like cake batter," Rei said. "Or vomit."

"I imagine it'd be a messy process," Shinichi said.

"So you're saying there's bound to be some residual matter from the process?" Rei said.

Suddenly there was a loud beeping noise. They turned around and there was a garbage truck.

"Ey, youse, get outta my way," the garbageman said in thick Kansai-ben. "I'm workin' here."

"Uh, excuse me, sir," Shinichi said. "You empty the trash along this route every day, right?"

"Yeah," the garbageman said. "Wuzzit to ya', eh?"

"Twelve days ago, when emptying the trash did you see this big out of place pile of goop?" Rei asked.

"Goop?" the garbageman said. "Oh, ya mean this?"

He turned his phone on and showed a picture to Shinichi and Rei. It was indeed a picture of a pile of goop inside of a dumpster.

Is that an…eyeball? Shinichi thought.

"I ain't seen nothin' like it in my sixteen years haulin' trash," the garbageman said. "It wasn't here, though. It was in another alley nearby."

"Can you show us where it was?" Shinichi asked.

"Ey, kid, I'm on a tight schedule," the garbageman said. "I ain't got time for no delays."

"Please, it's important!" Shinichi said. "And we'll make it worth your while."

"How much ya got for me?" the garbageman asked.

"2000 yen," Shinichi said. "And if it's nearby it should only take a minute, right?"

The garbageman sighed. "Follow me."

 **Scene Transition**

They followed him to another nearby alley.

"Youse see that dumpsta over there?" the garbageman said, pointing. "That's where it was. Now pay up, kid."

Shinichi gave the garbageman 2000 yen.

"Uh, wait a second," Rei said. "If it's all right with you, could you send that image to my phone?"

The garbageman shrugged. "Okay."

Rei took his phone out and the man sent a copy of the image to Rei's phone. Then the garbageman turned around and left. As soon as he was gone…

"So this is where the murder took place," Rei said.

"If we can find some clues as to the victim's identity, we may be able to track Patient Zero down quickly," Shinichi said.

He opened the dumpster and looked inside. Sure enough, there were still fragments of the goop. Then he looked around. He got down on his knees and started searching the ground. What he found right beside the dumpster was…

"This is…" Shinichi began, holding the object in his hand.

"A pachinko ball," Rei said. "With its unique design…"

"We can track down where it came from," Shinichi said.

"But we're not sure that this was on the victim," Rei said. "Unless…"

"Yeah, there's a slight bloodstain on it," Shinichi said. "This is probably it. It probably rolled here while he/she was either being attacked or eaten. There are no pachinko parlours within a quarter of a mile, so it's unlikely that the person holding this was on his way to an exchange center."

"More likely he just put it in his pocket and forgot," Rei said.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"This guy was probably a pachinko parlour employee," Rei confirmed. "But why would he or she have been in this back alley so far away from his or her workplace?"

"Perhaps the person lives nearby," Shinichi said. "Perhaps he or she was just a customer, not an employee. Regardless, it's the only lead we've got right now. Let's find the parlour where balls of this particular design are in use."

As they were about to turn and leave, Shinichi noticed something else and picked it up.

" _Chotto matte_ ," Rei said. "Isn't this a…?"

"Marijuana joint," Shinichi confirmed. "Whether or not this belongs to the victim, somebody who frequented this alley was a drug user."

"In any case it probably isn't relevant to the case," Rei said. "Come on, let's go."

 **Scene Transition**

They entered the "Lucky Panda Pachinko Parlour". There were hardly any customers present at the time.

Shinichi went behind the counter, put his hand into the bucket and took a pachinko ball out.

"This is the place," he said to Rei.

"HEY!"

The manager ran towards them. "What the heck do you think you're doing?!"

Shinichi put the pachinko ball back into the bucket and took the other one out of his pocket. He showed it to the manager.

"This is the parlour that uses these balls, if I'm not mistaken?" Shinichi asked.

"Yeah," the manager said. "So? What are you doing behind the counter?!"

"We have reason to suspect that cash prizes are being offered at this pachinko parlour," Shinichi said. "As we both know, gambling is a crime in Japan."

"W-who are you?!" the manager demanded.

"We're with the National Police Agency," Rei said.

"Hey, wait a second, I'm a retired police officer and the NPA isn't usually dressed like that," the manager said.

To the manager's shock, Rei pulled out a police ID. Shinichi and Rei stepped out from behind the counter.

"Now that this little misunderstanding is cleared up…" Shinichi began.

"T-there's nothing like that happening here," the manager said. "I run an honest business."

"We'd like to conduct an investigation and decide that for ourselves," Rei said. "If you're doing nothing wrong then you've got nothing to hide, right?"

"Y-you have a search warrant, right?" the manager asked. "I won't cooperate if you don't have a warrant."

"Oh, but we do," Shinichi said. "Show him, partner."

Rei reached into his pocket and began to pull out a piece of paper.

"O-okay then," the manager said, not bothering to inspect the supposed warrant. "If you're just going to investigate illegal gambling activities, then go right ahead. You won't find anything though."

"First of all, who are you?" Rei asked.

"I'm Hidehiko Yagami, owner and manager of this establishment," the manager said. "I'm 47 years old and a former police officer with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department."

He was a muscular ethnic Japanese man with glasses and a crew cut. He was wearing a black T-Shirt and jeans. His arms were hairy. Of course, being Japanese he had black hair and brown eyes.

"The report we got was from twelve days ago," Shinichi said. "Which of your employees were present at this parlour on that day?"

Hidehiko's eyes widened. But then he took a deep breath. "Twelve days ago," he repeated. "Hmm…I'll have to check. HEY, Rachel!"

A Caucasian girl with red hair walked over to where Hidehiko was standing. "Yeah?"

"Hey, Rachel, I think I recall that you were on shift 12 days ago, weren't you?" Hidehiko asked.

"Twelve days ago?" Rachel Edison, age 21, repeated. "Hmm, yeah, I think so."

"Can you tell me who was on shift that day?"

"Well, I was there from 10 to 5," Rachel said. "During that time, I remember…"

She gave a list of names.

"Uh, could you write down their names for us, please?" Shinichi asked.

"Who are these people?" Rachel asked.

"Apparently they're with the police," Hidehiko said. "They're claiming that cash prizes are being offered here. Please offer your full cooperation so we can be rid of them quickly."

Rachel retreated to a back room and came back with a pen and paper. She wrote down six names.

"S-sorry, my Kanji is poor," Rachel said.

"Uh, no, this is alright," Shinichi said.

"Are any of the people on this list here now?" Rei asked.

"Yeah. Eiichiro, Kaoru, and Osamu are here now," Hidehiko said.

 **Scene Transition**

Eiichiro Yonekura, age 26, was an overweight male with glasses. Kaoru Oda, age 21, was a skinny male who was wearing eye shadow. Osamu Kinoshita, age 25, was a slightly muscular male with spiked hair and earrings.

"You were at work here twelve days ago?" Rei asked.

"Yeah," Eiichiro said. "Yagami-san, who are these guys?"

"Ah, we're with the police," Rei said.

"T-the COPS?!" Osamu exclaimed. "SCREW THIS!"

He turned around and ran away as fast as he could. Shinichi tapped his belt, but then he remembered that he was wearing a normal belt.

Fortunately, Rei dashed towards Osamu, caught up with him, and tackled him to the ground.

"Why'd you run?!" Rei demanded.

"W-whatever it is you think I did, I'm innocent!" Osamu declared frantically.

"Cool it, Osamu!" Rachel said. "They're not after you!"

Osamu got up slowly.

"What're you here for?" Osamu asked.

"Can each of you please tell us the length of your shift four days ago?" Shinichi askd.

"Sure," Eiichiro said. "I clocked in at 3 PM and worked until 9."

"I work from 9 to 5," Kaoru said in a timid voice. "I'd prefer to just stay in my room, but my parents made me get a job."

So he's a hikikomori, Shinichi and Rei both noted.

"I work from 11 to 6," Osamu said. "Again, I didn't do nothing."

You get out at 6, Shinichi thought. It's approximately a six minute drive from here to that alley. So that means…

"Ah, _sumimasen_ ," Rei said. "I'd like to speak with my partner alone for a minute."

 **Scene Transition**

He and Shinichi headed outside.

"You know something," Rei said. "Spill it."

"Rei-san, I'd like to look at that picture again."

Rei took out his phone and displayed the picture.

"Don't you notice the watch?" Shinichi asked.

"Yeah," Rei said after staring at the picture for a few seconds. "It's got a crack on it."

"It's stopped at 6:31," Shinichi said. "If the watch belonged to the victim, and if it was damaged during the struggle between the victim and Patient Zero, then that means…"

"The time of death would either be 6:31 AM or 6:31 PM," Rei said. "Since he'd have to absorb the body and memories of the victim and since the whole process would be disorienting to say the least, I doubt the culprit would be able to immediately go back to work. I hear the whole process can take up to 5 hours."

"If it was 6:31 AM, then unless they were late for work that would rule out the white girl and the hikikomori," Rei said. "Frankly, for even Osamu to show up on time would be a stretch. The fath guy would be most suspicious."

"Yeah, but that's too simplistic," Shinichi said. "First of all, it could've been 6:31 PM. If we assume that the troublemaker immediately headed for that shady alleyway after he got off work, he could be attacked and eaten by Patient Zero. Second, there are three other names on that girl's list. It could be one of them."

"We need to check their alibis for twelve days ago at 6:31 AM and 6:31 PM," Rei said. "That girl and the people on her list."

"Or, it could simply be some random person who visited the pachinko parlour on that day," Shinichi said.

"It's worth a shot, isn't it?" Rei asked. "Anyway, we should probably go back inside now."

 **Scene Transition**

" _Sumimasen_ , but may we search the premises?" Shinichi asked.

Hidehiko shrugged. "I don't see what choice I have anway."

After searching around the pachinko parlour they found themselves in the back office room.

"What do you hope to find?" Rei asked.

"I need to know where the manager and his employees live," Shinichi said.

He pulled a business card out of a drawer.

"Aha," Shinichi said. "I've found…"

Out of the blue something caught his eye. He walked up to it and took a closer look.

There was a picture hanging on the wall of the manager holding a big fish. Magic marker writing on the picture dated it to 2 months ago.

"Hey, let me see that picture on your phone again," Shinichi said.

Rei showed it to him again. Shinichi grabbed the phone and held it up to the picture. He looked very closely, even squinting.

"Hey, wait a second…!" Rei said. "The e…"

"Yeah," Shinichi said.

"What are you two talking about?"

They turned around to see Osamu standing there.

"W-what's it about the boss?!" Osamu asked. "Are you suspecting him of something?!"

Shinichi looked at Rei and then at the punk. "Yeah. We do."

"I-I knew it," Osamu said, almost a whisper, his eyes wide open. "It must have something to do with…"

"Hey, what do you know?" Shinichi asked.

"N-nothing!" Osamu exclaimed, panicky. "Nothing at all!"

He turned to leave but Rei grabbed him by the arm.

"Listen to us," Rei said. "If you're hiding something, it's best that you come clean now."

"HE'LL KILL ME!" Osamu wailed, bursting into tears.

Rei slapped him on the cheek. Osamu fell over.

"H-hey!" Shinichi protested.

"He'll be fine," Rei said. "Listen, tell me what you know and I promise that we'll protect you."

Osamu was breathing heavy.

"Tell us!" Shinichi barked.

"Okay, okay!" Osamu said, scared of Rei. "What I saw that day was…"

 **Scene Transition**

"So there really was nothing," Shinichi said to Rei in front of the suspects.

Shinichi turned to Hidehiko. "Sir, we'd like to take your statement down at the station."

"U-uh sure," Hidehiko said.

Shinichi looked at Hidehiko in the eyes. Sure enough…

Hidehiko accompanied the two men outside.

"Where's your police car?" Hidehiko asked.

"Actually, sir, we walked here," Shinichi said. "Our police car is in a parking lot several blocks from here."

Hidehiko sighed. "Geez. Whatever, let's go."

 **Scene Transition**

"Hey, I don't see any cars here," Hidehiko said after they stepped foot in the empty parking lot.

"Hidehiko-san, we know who the culprit is," Shinichi said.

"Y-you do?" Hidehiko asked, trying hard to maintain his composure. "You mean one of my employees has been conducting illegal activities at my parlour without my knowledge? Who is it?"

"Hidehiko-san," Rei said. "The culprit is…YOU!"

 **To Be Continued**

 **Ending:**

(Red by BREAKERZ)

I'll never forget the moment when I realized you were gone

Your body was as cold as ice in my arms, a beautiful empty shell

A burning tear streaked across my face, I could hardly breathe

They pried me away, scratch marks engraved into your flesh

I'll never forget the moment when they laid you in the ground

Walking away that day was the hardest thing I've ever had to do

I returned to life a robot, the days coming and going like the clouds

I fell into bed, begging for the day to end while dreading tomorrow

I used to think the world was black, white, and a multitude of different colors

But now the only colors in my world are gray and a maddening shade of red

That man's face is burned into the back of my head, haunting my sleepless nights

I know what I have to do tonight, even if I must be no longer the man you loved


	6. Episode 915

"Hey, I don't see any cars here," Hidehiko said after they stepped foot in the empty parking lot.

"Hidehiko-san…we know who the culprit is," Shinichi said.

"Y-you do?" Hidehiko asked, trying hard to maintain his composure. "You mean one of my employees has been conducting illegal activities at my parlour without my knowledge? Who is it?"

"Hidehiko-san," Rei said. "The culprit is…YOU!"

 **OPENING:**

( _Ai Wa Te Saguri Kurayami No Naka De_ by ZARD, in the key of A Minor)

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

(As the end draws near the war's fallout results in tougher and tougher cases! To save Ran's life, will I have to join the Men in Black? Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child and the mind of an adult, my name is... _Meitantei Conan!)_

 _Yoake wo highway_

 _Kono omoi to be your slave_

 _Oh tonight and every night you'd be mine_

 _Meutsuri ki ni naru koi no kakehiki_

 _Ai wa te saguri kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa ki magure beat ni dakare_

 _Mitsumete in your eyes_

 _Ai wa maboroshi kurayami no naka de_

 _Odoru it's gonna be a great night, yeah!_

 _Ai wa furuete beat ni dakare_

 _Kono mama in your eyes, oh yeah!_

 **Black Gambit: Part Six!**

"Provided that we receive the sample on time, how long should it take?"

"With the proper funding, I can see mass production within six months. _Madam_ , just out of curiosity, why are we doing this?"

"The Council is composed of fools. Heretics, even. A weapon that can destroy human civilisation? And then 300 individuals would come to take over the world? They're a bunch of raving lunatics, I tell you! No, there is a better way. A much more effective way. Why should we reserve the power of the Altar Organ for a select few individuals? Why not share it with the entire world? Once this is accomplished…no more action on our part will be needed. The lure of the power provided by the Altar Organ will prove too strong for many, enough to bring down all major civilisations."

"And then all men shall become gods?"

She laughed. "No, no one who is made in the image of the gods can become a god any more than a painting of a man can become an actual man. But all men will live their lives as the gods intended, at long last. Just imagine it, Mezcal. A perfect world will be within our grasp soon."

"If you say so, madam."

"Rum, what do you think? You've just been standing there without saying a word."

"...Personally, I don't care how it's done, just as long as our rotten societies burn."

"Well spoken...wait, Tooru-chan just now texted me the coordinates for the drop-off point."

"Is that so? Tell me and I shall go retrieve the subject."

"All right, Rum. listen carefully. The address is…"

 **Scene Transition**

"M-me?!" Hidehiko exclaimed. "You're saying that I'm conducting illegal gambling activities."

"That was just a façade," Shinichi said. "Then again, I think you already knew that, if only subconsciously. No, you are guilty of murder and identity theft."

"Murder?!" Hidehiko protested. "You didn't say anything about that! I'm innocent!"

"Drop the act," Rei said. "It's too painful to watch. In truth, you've done a fantastic job blending into modern day society, but that's more thanks to that certain internal organ rather than your personal acting skills. Here's what happened: twelve days ago, you escaped from the facility about a mile away from here up on that hill over there." He pointed. "You had no idea where or when you were. All you knew was that you were in a very strange place. What you knew was that those men from the facility would be coming after you, so you hid in an alleyway. However, at 6:31 PM that day two men entered that very same alley. One was Hidehiko Yagami. The other was his employee, Osamu Kinoshita. Osamu had introduced his boss to an illegal drug called _marijuana_ from the West. They were there in that alley so that they could smoke in secret, Osamu having just gotten off of work. Fearing that they'd discover you and also knowing that you needed to figure out where you were and to hide by assuming someone else's identity, you came out from inside the dumpster and attacked the two. Osamu managed to get away, but you managed to capture Hidehiko."

"However, using marijuana has some peculiar side effects," Shinichi continued. "One is that your eyes become bloodshot. Whenever you saw the man's eyes, you decided quickly that you weren't going to replace your own with them. So you ate the man, starting with his brain. Then you ate everything else except for his eyes, which you discarded. It took a few hours, but afterwards you succeeded in becoming Hidehiko Yagami. You downloaded his memories onto your head, and so you knew how to start living his life. At some later point you contacted Osamu, who was a witness to the crime. You told him you were fine, but also that you would kill him if he ever told anyone what he saw."

"PROOF!" Hidehiko demanded.

"Oh, we've got that," Rei said. "First of all, we have Osamu's testimony that his boss was attacked by a quote-unquote caveman twelve days ago. Second, there's your eyes. Any picture of Hidehiko Yagami which predated the attack would show him having different eyes than you do now, though the eye colour is the same. Heck, all we have to do is find a picture of him on the internet and compare it to the picture of the eyes found in the dumpster. If they can be proven to match, then we could even bring you to court in theory, though I doubt that either the jury or the judge would believe the tale. That doesn't matter, though. The only people who need to be convinced are our peers in the Black Organisation, and they won't hesitate to believe us. They're on their way here now, in fact. Don't worry, they want you alive for whatever reason."

What is he going to do now? Shinichi thought. Is he going to try to run? Will he turn violent? Dang, I didn't even bring my stun gun wristwatch.

"Are you going to run?" Rei asked.

Serenity swept over Hidehiko/Patient Zero. He smiled. "No, I'm tired of running. Truth be told, I'm almost relieved that you two managed to find me. I have killed once before, on a battlefield between my tribe and another long ago, but that felt different from now. That 'download' as you call it must've affected my mind more than I thought, because I feel horrible. Modern ideas on the sanctity of human life are quite the testament to how far the human race has come, but to a murderer like me it's unwelcome news. I wish now that I didn't do it; more than anything else I wish that I didn't do it. Even more than I wish to escape from those strange men who brought me back to life in that laboratory. How long was I dead anyway?"

"About four thousand years," Shinichi said.

"Four thousand years, huh?" Patient Zero said with amusement. "I guess that makes me easily the world's oldest living person. I think that I've lived far too long anyway, if I had to take another man's life to keep on living."

"You surrender, then?" Rei asked.

"Yeah, I surrender," Patient Zero said. "I'm not going to run away, so if you've got handcuffs you can put them away. Before you take me away, there's one thing that I want to tell you."

"And what is that?" Shinichi asked.

"My tribe is long gone, as is the rest of my species," Patient Zero said. "The best that I can hope for is to be remembered, so let me tell you my story and the story of my people. In my first life, my name was Tkesoma, a proud warrior and hunter who rode on horseback and was skilled in the use of the bow. My tribe numbered around 300 men, women, and children. My father died of an illness whenever I was in my twelfth year of life. My people sought the same things that anyone else sought. They had the same hopes and dreams as anyone else. The large majority of us had never used that certain ability unique to our species, which you call Antichrist. Yes, I heard that word being used in the laboratory where I was held, and with modern knowledge I am now aware of what it means. It does not accurately describe my species; we were not evil, and we acted no worse than _homo sapiens_ would have if you possessed that same ability. The way that my people are remembered is an injustice."

"Frankly, only a tiny elite of people today have ever even heard of your species," Rei said.

"Is that so?" Patient Zero/Tkesoma asked. "Well, I guess it's better that way, because your species would not understand us anyway. You would unfairly pronounce judgment upon us, as you have in the past. As your kind did when I was alive. Look upon me as a monster if you wish, but…"

"You did what you did to survive," Shinichi said. "That does not excuse what you did, but you are far from a monster, Tkesoma-san."

"You will remember, won't you?" Patient Zero/Tkesoma asked.

"Yeah, we'll remember," Rei said. "As long as we live, you and your tribe will not be forgotten."

"Thank you," Patient Zero/Tkesoma said.

Suddenly a black van with illegally tinted windows pulled into the parking lot.

"Well, here comes your ride," Shinichi said. "Farewell."

Suddenly a transquiliser dart (the real life kind, not the kind that Shinichi/Conan used) hit Patient Zero/Tkesoma in the shoulder. He stumbled to the ground and two men clad in SWAT gear grabbed him and threw him in the back of the van. Then the van drove off quickly.

 **Scene Transition**

The motorcycle arrived the Kudo Residence. Shinichi got off.

"Well, this concludes your first mission as Cognac," Rei said. "Congratulations. You're a full-fledged member of the Black Organisation."

"How long before they contact me again?" Shinichi asked.

"Probably a week or two," Rei said. "But be ready for deployment at a moment's notice. You can take off your uniform now, but keep it clean and ready to be worn again. By the way, does the old man know where Conan is?"

"I told him I'd be at the Professor's house until 6 PM," Shinichi said.

"Why? Is that when the drug wears off?" Rei asked.

"I took it at around 5:20 PM yesterday, so yeah," Shinichi said. "Does Elena-san know that we've completed the mission?"

"Yup," Rei said. "She replied three minutes ago and said the drug will be delivered to Dr. Agasa's home by 8 PM. Anyway, it goes without saying that you're in unfamiliar and very dangerous territory now, so be careful. Well, goodbye."

With that, Rei drove off.

 **Scene Transition**

The embers smoldered brilliantly on the fireplace. Yoko relaxed on the couch clad from head to toe in black leather, a significant departure from the "good girl" image that the naïve public had come to know her by over the course of many years. Suddenly there was a knocking at her chamber door. She arose and answered the door.

Rei stepped inside.

"My, you're early," Yoko said.

"What can I say?" Rei asked. "Cognac and I work fast when we're a team."

"Indeed," Yoko said. "Anyway, are you ready to do some cooking?"

"Absolutely," Rei said. "But first, a present for you from Cognac. Well, it was handed first to Gin, who gave it to me so that I may deliver it to you."

Yoko took the notebook in her hand. It read _Diary_ on the front cover.

"What's this?" Yoko asked.

"Apparently it belonged to Kir," Rei said. "Her diary which she was filling up until her death."

This is…Yoko thought. "With this, we can…"

"Yeah, we can perhaps find out why Pinot Noir had her killed," Rei said. "Would you like to read it while I cook?"

"That'd be great," Yoko said.

 **Thirty minutes later**

Rei walked into the living room holding an aluminum cooking tub containing freshly cooked meat. He set it down on the coffee table.

"You learned anything?" Rei asked.

"Yeah," Yoko said. "It turns out that Kir figured out Korn was the Boss, so I'm guessing that's why he had her killed. And all this time I thought she might've been a mole or something." She laughed.

"Isn't that good news?" Rei said. "Kir was an exemplary agent, her brief capture by the FBI notwithstanding."

"Indeed," Yoko said. "That's why I'm going to have her reinstated right now."

She whipped her phone out, called the Council, and ordered that Kir's body be dug up and revived, and that she'd be reinstated into the Organisation as one of the Black Crows. Rei briefly stepped outside so that he could express his deep relief over the successful CIA plan to have Kir revived.

As soon as the call was finished…

"So, are you going to eat?" Rei asked.

"Certainly," Yoko said. "I wouldn't want it to grow cold." She took a bite.

That b***h Vermouth is never coming back, she thought with satisfaction as she took a bite into her former comrade's brain.

 **Scene Transition**

With a creak the door gave way and opened slowly. Conan Edogawa stepped inside the Mouri Residence.

"Hey, brat," Kogoro said.

Eri elbowed Kogoro. "Hi Conan-kun, how was your day at the Professor's house?"

"Hello, Aunt Eri, Uncle Kogoro," Conan said in his routine childish voice. "It was good. I played video games with Mitsuhiko, Genta, Ayumi, and Haibara."

"You went to school today, right?" Kogoro asked.

"Of course!" Conan said with a nervous chuckle, hoping that uncle wouldn't see through his lie.

Haibara had better cover for me like she said she would, he thought.

Goro (Eri's cat) rubbed against Conan's leg while purring.

"Uh, listen, Conan," Eri said. "Uncle Kogoro and I had a discussion while you were gone and…"

"We-we decided to…" Kogoro said, getting all sweaty and unable to finish. "We decided to, uh…"

"Get back together!" Eri said, irritated at her husband's apparent inability to say the words. "Anyway, Conan-kun, I'm moving in, for good if things work out. Will that be okay with you?"

Conan nodded. "Oh yes. That's perfectly okay with me, Aunt Eri."

It isn't even my house, Conan thought. Why are you asking my permission?

"Uh, there's something else you need to know, boy," Kogoro said awkwardly. "There's, uh, uh…geez, how the heck do I explain something like this to a kid?!"

"Conan-kun, a man and a woman who love each other very much sometimes do adult things together," Eri said. "Things that children don't need to see. When we do those adult things we need privacy, so…"

"I get it," Conan said. "You want me to move into Ran-neechan's old room, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Kogoro said. "Come, I'll help you move your stuff."

Later, after Conan's stuff was moved into Ran's room, the three of them sat down and ate supper. After supper was finished…

"Uh, boy, Aunt Eri and I are going to bed early," Kogoro said.

"…Oh," Conan said, realising what they meant and trying hard to get that deeply disturbing image out of his head. "Well, okay then. Good night."

And so, at 7:45 Kogoro and Eri locked the bedroom door, closed the curtains, and enjoyed *a certain pleasurable activity* together that neither person had experienced in a solid ten years. As soon as their bedroom door was slammed, Conan left the Mouri Residency.

 **Scene Transition**

 **8:01 PM**

Conan stepped inside Dr. Agasa's home.

"Ah, Shinichi," Dr. Agasa said. "James Black-san has been waiting."

"Did Elena-san send you to deliver the pill?" Conan asked.

"Actually, I volunteered," James Black said. "Here you go."

He handed Conan a pillcase. Conan looked inside and saw a single pill, labeled _ELXR-0666_.

"Will this really…?!" Haibara asked.

"Yes, it should revive your friend," James Black said. "I've seen it in action once, and I can assure you it isn't a hoax. Just have Mouri-kun's body swallow it with some water. She does have a warning, though."

"A warning?" Conan asked.

"Indeed. The warning is this: 'I will not supply you with a second pill. If after being revived your Ran dies a second time, she will be gone for good. After you get this second chance, make the most of it, and guard her much more carefully than you did the first time around. And even if she does die a second time, I will still expect you to uphold your end of our bargain and continue to spy on the Organisation for us.' That's what she said."

"I understand," Conan said. "Of course, my bargain with her will only mean anything if this pill actually works."

"Hey, that's my mother you're talking about," Haibara said. "Don't talk about her as if she's some untrustworthy character."

" _Sumimasen_ ," Conan said. "Anyway, let's go over to my house and retrieve Ran's body from the basement."

 **Scene Transition**

He tapped his foot impatiently as he leaned against the metal crate. He stared at the river and then at his watch.

Finally, a black car arrived and came to a stop. The woman in black stepped out to meet him.

"You did a masterful job in killing Ran Mouri," she said. "For that I must congratulate you."

"Yeah, whatever," he said. "Now, a deal is a deal. You've brought it, right? The fake ID and enough money for my one-way plane ticket out of the country."

"I can do better than that," the woman said. "I can grant you a one-way ticket…TO HELL!"

Before Kiichiro Numabuchi could react, she pulled out a silenced gun and shot him in the head.

Having eliminated the last loose end to an otherwise perfect crime, Elena Miyano struggled to drag the body towards the trunk of her car.

If that boy ever finds out, she thought, he will turn on us and destroy us utterly. He has to remain in the dark, at least for now; until the day comes when he breaks the prophecy and completes Nobutaro's Plan. After that, I don't care what happens to me…but what will Shiho think?

 **Scene Transition**

 **9:12 PM**

The pill had been administered to Ran's corpse roughly an hour ago. Already her body was showing signs of restoration. Her body laid on a bed at the Kudo Residence. Waiting anxiously, Conan paced the halls.

James Black stepped out into the halls. "Ah, Kudo-kun. There's something that I wish to talk to you about."

"Huh?" Conan said. "What is it?"

"As you know, Mouri-kun is legally dead," James Black said. "Elena-san cannot afford for her revival to be made known, as her apparently miraculous resurrection would raise far too many questions. And whenever the Organisation heard about it, they would have to stop and wonder if some outside force had access to that same drug which they developed."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Conan asked. "Tell her that she has to live her life in hiding? To never see any of her loved ones again?"

"Well, yes and no," James Black said. "She must live her life in hiding, but she may be able to see her loved ones on a daily basis. For this purpose, Elena-san has prepared a second drug. A…perfected version of APTX-4869. If ingested, the target will be shrunk, without running the normal risk of death. That is, de-aging/shrinking is the main effect of the drug, not a rare side effect like with the version which you were forced to take."

"Y-you want her to…?" Conan began, realising just what it was that James Black was trying to say.

"Yes, Kudo-kun," James Black said. "Ran Mouri must shrink, just as you did. She is eighteen right now, so the drug in question will make her about eight. That's the same age as Conan Edogawa, if I'm not mistaken. Given this, she will be able to attend the same school as you…and perhaps even live in her old home, if you can convince Mouri-san to take her. Of course, that's just the blue pill."

"The blue pill?" Conan repeated.

"Yes. Elena-san has also prepared a red pill, a perfected version of the APTX-4869 antidote. Unlike the 24-hour version prepared by Shiho-kun, the red pill will permanently revert you back to your normal size/age. It will never wear off. Of course, even after taking it you'll still be able to re-shrink yourself by taking the blue pill. Together, the two pills will allow you to alternate between Shinichi Kudo and Conan Edogawa with the utmost ease. Even that agonising sensation which comes with shrinking or un-shrinking has been reduced."

"Elena-san will give me both pills?" Conan asked.

"That is correct," James Black said. "To start off you will be given 50 blue pills and 50 red pills, and she'll be happy to provide you with more if you ever run out. In any case, to serve the Black Organisation just one red pill will be required. That is, of course, if you so choose to permanently become Shinichi Kudo and cast aside forever the persona of Conan Edogawa."

"I'm not ready to do that," Conan/Shinichi said. "First of all, the Organisation doesn't know the truth behind Conan Edogawa. As a result, while I am in this shrunken body they cannot kill me. If I spend most of my time as Conan and only turn back into Shinichi when doing missions for the Organisation, I won't have to worry about them killing me in my sleep. The only risk to my life will be during missions. Second, I'd like to keep an eye out for Ran and guide her through her transition. Like you said, I won't be given a second pill to revive Ran with if she were to die a second time. The best way to do that is to continue living with the Mouris as Conan. And third…"

"There's a third thing?" James Black asked.

"One day, Ran and I will get married," Conan/Shinichi said. "If she has no choice but to spend the rest of her life with a de-aged body living under a false identity…then I choose also to spend the rest of my life with a de-aged body living under a false identity."

"Y-you mean you're never going back?!" James Black exclaimed.

"Until the day that Ran can go back to living as her normal self, that's correct," Conan/Shinichi said. "For all purposes except for those related to infiltrating the Black Organisation, Shinichi Kudo is dead. Only Conan Edogawa remains."

 **Scene Transition**

"Kudo-kun, come quick!" Haibara exclaimed, bursting into the hallway. "She has a pulse and she's breathing!"

Conan hurried into the bedroom where Subaru Okiya and Dr. Agasa were waiting patiently for Ran's recovery.

"Ran!" Conan exclaimed. "Hey, Ran-neechan! Can you hear me?"

Ran slowly opened her eyes. She slowly turned her head and looked at Conan.

"C-conan…kun," Ran said. "Conan-kun, what's going on?"

 **The End**

 **Ending:**

(Red by BREAKERZ)

I'll never forget the moment when I realized you were gone

Your body was cold as ice in my arms, a beautiful empty shell

A burning tear streaked across my face, I could hardly breathe

They pried me away, scratch marks engraved into your flesh

I'll never forget the moment when they laid you in the ground

Walking away that day was the hardest thing I've ever had to do

I returned to my life a robot, the days coming and going like clouds

I fell into bed, begging for the day to end while dreading tomorrow

I used to think the world was black, white, and a multitude of brilliant colors

But now the only colors in my world are gray and a maddening shade of red

That man's face is burned into the back of my head, haunting my sleepless nights

I know what I have to do tonight, even if I must be no longer the man you loved

Please leave a review/comment and tell me what you think. Thank you for taking the time to read this story!


End file.
